Walking After You
by TheDoctorAteMyShoe
Summary: Rose is pregnant with the Doctor's baby. Before she can tell him they discover a derelict spaceship with portals to 18th century France. When Reinette joins the crew, Rose is no longer certain she can stay.
1. Prologue: Different Perfect

**Prologue **

It was three days after the Sycroax invasion of the Earth, and since the Doctor had regenerated.

He sat Howard's jimjams, in the library, trying to read a book he'd recently acquired. After reading the same line for the 9th time in a row and not grasping the story, he put the book down. The truth was he was thinking about his Rose… his Rose? He pondered. He hoped the answer was still yes. She'd been shy around him, even after they reminisced over memories as he tried to prove it was still him – just in a new shell.

He missed their nightly ritual of reading a book together in the library or one of their bedrooms before Rose set off to sleep. He _was _unusually tired, the effects of the regeneration still wearing on his normally limitless bounds of energy, which meant he'd actually slept more last night than he had in the past month. Rose seemed to be pretty tired too, the stress of it all was probably wearing her down as well. Still, best to keep things as routine as they had been prior, he thought. So he set off in search of Rose.

It didn't take too long to find Rose, she was nursing a cuppa in the galley, and had dark circles under her eyes. Other than that she looked perfect, sitting in a pink silk night gown and pink fuzzy slippers. Though the night gown might have been considered risqué (it was quite short), he was very used to Rose in like bedtime attire, and if she was comfortable then what did it matter if he could enjoy the view of a little more skin? She was beautiful, for a human.

He winced at the thought, he really had to stop saying that. If he was being truthful she was more stunning than any Time Lady he'd ever seen. There was no comparing Rose Tyler, her heart, soul, and beautiful body. That was twice in ten seconds he had caught himself thinking about her body. Clearly this regeneration was born of his lov-_liking _of Rose, he thought.

She grinned a big, relaxed, Rose Tyler smile at the sight of him. He released the breath he was holding, infinitely happy that she seemed to be back to the way she was prior to his regeneration.

"Hello there, Doctor Handsome." Did Rose Tyler just outright flirt with him?

"Hello there, pink and lovely." Wait, did he just flirt back?

"Would you like a cuppa?" She offered, gesturing to the seat across from the bar table.

"Well, if I'm going to be greeted with such pleasantries, I think I'd like to stick around." He grinned back at her, eyes shining. "But seriously, Doctor Handsome… I wonder if it is too late to expand my moniker? 'Don't worry, Doctor Handsome will save us!'" He tried out the name for kicks.

"How's about 'Doctor Humble'?" She said, raising an eyebrow before giving him her famous tongue-in-teeth smile.

"Me? Never!" He retorted. "So, what would you say to picking up our nightly ritual of reading? I don't know about you, but I am just _dying_ to see if Mr. Darcy will ask Elizabeth to dance!" He said, barely covering the painstakingly hopeful look in his eyes.

"Dance? Or _dance?" _Rose Tyler teased, before hoping off of her stool and reaching out her hand, wiggling her fingers.

The Doctor beamed at the acceptance. "Well, while Ms. Austen did capture the social hierarchy of the time period quite well, I don't think _dancing_ was something ever discussed outside the bed chambers, let alone in social circles."

"Pity that." Rose replied, cheekily.

The Doctor led her to his bedroom, and she climbed onto the dark, oak bed, and under the large blue duvet, snuggling in. The Doctor had always loved the fact that his bed smelled of Rose when he finally did get around to sleeping. Her scent seemed to keep his nightmares at bay. Though, it didn't do much to discourage his hormones or fantasies, superior biology or not.

The Doctor picked up where they had previously left off. Unlike last time, in his old body and personality, he was actually looking forward to delving into this classic. Rose had insisted on something whimsical and romantic, and he couldn't bring himself to deviate from literary classics, so he'd settled upon Jane Austen, even if it was a bit domestic for his tastes.

Reading the description of the men at the dance that Elizabeth was attending, the Doctor paused.

"Would I fit in there, do you think?" He asked out of the blue.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I mean, the dashing, handsome men that the women were fawning over. Where would I stack rank there? I mean, if they didn't know I was a Time Lord, obviously."

"Obviously…" Rose said, amused with his question.

"Do you…. Do you like my new self?" He asked, vulnerability on full display.

Roses' eyes softened and she smiled. Grabbing the book from his hands, she placed the book marker to their current page and set the book aside.

"Yes, I do." She said earnestly.

"There's lots of brown…is brown okay?" He said, still worried. Rose moved from her spot cuddled beside him and turned to face him, tucking her legs under her. She slowly reached a hand to his face and brushed her fingers through the top of his fringe.

"I _love _brown," she said "in fact, I think it is my new favorite color." She moved her hands to gently caress his eyebrows, and eyelashes, then his side burns and chin stubble.

He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the top of her fingers, quite gentlemanly-like, Rose thought.

"It's…it's to your liking? You still like…me?" He asked, partly insecure and partly in awe of her affectionate display.

"Well," she said softly and slightly playfully. "I haven't seen all of it, so let's see…" She said pulling the duvet back from his jimjam-covered legs.

"Feet, let's start with the feet…" she said moving towards the bottom of his body. She bit her bottom lip in thought as she gently caressed the top of his foot. "I can't say I ever really had a good look at your feet before, but out of all the feet I have ever seen, these are quite perfect." She said in a soft, mesmerized, and loving tone.

Her fingers gently pushed the jimjams upwards and she continued. "Ankle, yes…yes, quite lovely…" She pushed the material up even further.

"Calves, magnificent, beautifully formed…" she said before moving the material up even further to his knees. "And knees, the most stunning knees…."

The Doctor watched with amazement and reverie as Rose softly explored the most mundane parts of his new body.

She pulled the material back down and moved further up his body, grabbing his hand. She turned it over in hers, studying the lines, the lean fingers, slender knuckles, and faultless nails, before she linked their fingers together.

"I didn't think it was possible, but our hands seem to fit even _more_ together." She marveled. "And handsome, perfect hands." She added as she moved the material up his arm, gently caressing the inside of his arm that she held palm-up.

"Soft, cool, remarkable skin and soft hair." She said as she stroked the underside of his arm. His hair was slightly finer than a human male's hair, she marveled at the texture.

Rose slowly brought her hand back to his face, pausing before she touched him, seeking permission. He caught her hand and leaned his face into it, so as to have his cheek cupped.

She didn't say anything as she traced his forehead, and then eyebrows, leaning close in to see. She gently traced his lips and smiled.

"Different perfect." She said, summing up her assessment.

The Doctor pulled her in for a passionate kiss, firm and loving, as he wrapped his hands into her hair. She slid her hands behind his back and she deepened the kiss with her soft and tentative tongue.

Ever since she had joined him on his ship, shared his home, he had wanted Rose. Wanted Rose to the depths of his being, he was an empty vessel, and she was liquid compassion. She was his opposite, yet match. They were meant for each other. And tonight, tonight she had never looked more radiant, more perfect.

And with those thoughts he lost all control.

He pushed her gently backwards, towards the bottom of his bed, never breaking the kiss. Rose moaned as his weight shifted on top of her. He slid his hand under the silk strap of her nightgown and pulled it down her arm, exposing her breast.

Breaking the kiss to catch their breaths, he pulled the strap on the other side down, and looked at Rose's perfect, voluptuous breasts. If there was ever the thing to use the word "perfect on," those would be it.

She unbuttoned his top and pushed it down over his shoulders, he discarded the garment to the floor before sliding his hand underneath her mound and softly palming it. Rose lifted her head slightly to kiss him again, pulling him back down with her. She shifted her body underneath him and felt his hard erection against the inner of her thigh, she smiled through the kiss. He pulled away, returning the smile and pulled her nightgown over her hips and off of her completely, throwing it to the side.

The Doctor paused to take in Rose and her curvy, amazing body. His breath hitched, and he groaned a small whimper of want. Lying back down on top of her, he again started to kiss her, deeper and harder than before. His hand moved down her side and over her hipbone to the soft dark curls of her center.

He tentatively moved his finger up and down her slit, feeling the inviting wetness, before slipping a finger in and curling it upward until Rose let a soft gasp fall from her lips, breaking their kiss, and closing her eyes. He began to slowly move in and out of her, priming her for him and enjoying the soft mewing sounds he was eliciting from her.

Rose opened her eyes and she was stunned at the look on his face, she had never seen anyone look at her with such an expression on their face: Pure adoration, love, and contentment.

Rose trailed her hands down her hands down his chest, under the top of his waistband, and grabbed his erection firmly in her hands. She slowly moved her wrist back and forth, keeping a tight pressure. She watched in wonder as he let out a soft moan, followed by a hiss.

She pushed his bottoms down with her hands, then slid them off him completely with her feet. Her inner thigh brushing him in the process.

Rose felt like fire to his ice, and the Doctor couldn't wait any longer. He pulled her upright into a sitting position, facing him, and pulled her onto his lap. He lined them up and searched her eyes one last time, finding love and want returned in her gaze.

He slowly slid his hard length into her, releasing a breath in tandem with her. Rose gasped and leaned her head against his forehead, eyes closed, relishing the feel of him inside her. After a moment she rocked her hips into him and set a soft rhythm.

The Doctor kissed her neck and gently sucked her pert, pink nipples as they bounced up and down. Moving his hand in between them, he found her small round bundle of nerves and started to gently rub circles into it. Rose moaned louder as he did this and rocked hard into his hand. A familiar burning ache started to build up in her stomach, and just before Rose started to come, she kissed the Doctor in a deep, passionate kiss.

As she crested tightly around his cock, she broke the kiss and held her head tightly to his neck. She murmured into his ear "I love you." He groaned at the admission, and kissed her harder, flipping her onto her back, he picked up the pace and drove harder into her. He was on the brink, so close to coming too.

"Say it again…" He whispered, and as she did he lost all control, pouring himself into her and crying out at the release.

The waves slowed and his thrusts came to a gentle stop. His head was buried in her neck and hair, he pulled back and looked into her eyes. They were silent for several minutes, neither one wanting to break apart.

"Now that…_that_ was perfect." He said smiling and slightly panting, as he brushed hair from her face and bent down to kiss her again.

After several minutes of lying entangled, the Doctor and Rose shifted up into the top of his bed and cuddled together. He would never doubt that Rose was attracted to him again, he thought.

Every night afterwards, their reading ended with another session of brilliant, passionate love making.


	2. Girl, Interrupted

Rose was pregnant.

She stood looking at the results of the pregnancy test the TARDIS had provided her. Unlike 21st Earth pregnancy test technology, this advanced test provided more information. "Species: 98% Gallifreyan, 2% human. Fetal gestational age: 8 weeks. Maternal gestation: 4 weeks," the stats read.  
Rose studied the results and swallowed hard, this all but confirmed her suspicions.

She wasn't sure how she felt at that moment, perhaps a bit scared and anxious, all the norms that come with being twenty years old and pregnant. Underneath those fleeting emotions however, Rose knew for sure she was exceedingly happy. The Doctor would no longer be the last of his kind, doomed to live out the rest of existence alone.

Rose was also keeping another secret from the Doctor.

It had all started when she noticed her connection with the TARDIS becoming stronger, far greater than what he had told her humans were capable of experiencing.

There were a myriad of changes that had started happening in the past month. For starters, there was her hair; she noticed her roots didn't grow out. Her hair was actually turning the platinum blonde that she had shamelessly bottle-produced since she was sixteen.

Then there was the fact that her sleeping patterns had changed. These days (even considering the early stages of pregnancy and accompanying exhaustion) she'd only ever sleep five hours at the most. Her stamina for running, thinking on her feet, and comprehension skills seemed to be evolving. New information started to filter in a well.

One day she found herself in the lab, inexplicably able to suss out equipment uses. She analyzed her DNA and confirmed the notions the TARDIS had been sending her. She was evolving. She was changing into a Gallifreyan, or at least something close.

Rose sighed, placing the test in a drawer for safe-keeping. She and the Doctor would have a lot to discuss.

That, however, was before a derelict ship and a portal way to 18th century France.

**************

Rose and the Doctor sat in the library in the afternoon. Rose was curled up at the end of the couch with her feet in the Doctor's lap, and the Doctor nestled into the opposite end reading out loud.

They were reading the last book from The Harry Potter series, though The Doctor had insisted they read the alternate edition where Voldemort won. Rose however, wasn't listening to the story. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on it, her mind would wander to her current state of being.

Things had recently started to change after the Sarah Jane debacle. The Doctor had started making excuses as to avoid their nightly reading and love making sessions. Occasionally he would offer a mid- day library session as a break after lunch, like today. He had also invited Mickey to join their trips on the TARDIS, which she took to mean the Doctor was intentionally putting space between them.

As she contemplated the best way to broach the topic of her pregnancy, she was absent mindedly running her fingers over a large silver medallion in her pocket. She felt the rough patterns as she tried to build up the courage to tell the Doctor they were expecting.

The trinket she held was actually an Effelmyian medallion piece. She recalled her trip to an Effelmyian market, where she had seen the piece and it caught her eye. It was silver-colored and held in the grooves the most amazing stones that were similar to the Earth opal.

When she asked the merchant about it, the merchant told her the piece represented a tradition among their people. When bringing a new life into the world, the lover would present their mate with the medallion.

Binging the piece out of her pocket, she smiled and touched it. The stones immediately changed colors before her eyes. At the time she had thought that it would be a lovely gift for Shareen, or one of her friends back home. Now she was waiting to give it to the Doctor. She wondered if it was irony or fate that she had decided to purchase the piece.

She gathered her wits and took a breath.

"Doctor…" she interrupted when he had finished a chapter. He looked up from behind his 'sexy glasses' with a kind smile.

"I have something I'd like to talk to you about…" she paused, watching his reaction.

He folded the book closed and raised his eyebrows inquiring. Rose pocketed the medallion again, keeping her nervous fidgeting hidden to the insides of her pockets.

"Do you remember…" she started before pausing to reword, "of course you remember, I mean who could forget all those times," she had started to babble, when at that precise moment a ship alarm rang. Rose quickly lost her courage to continue at the interruption.

The Doctor jumped up and sprinted to the console room, tossing the book aside. Rose followed, and heard Mickey coming up the hallway behind them.

"A distress signal from a ship!" the Doctor announced, putting his glasses back on as he read the screen.

"Strange, life forms but not full life form readings… what in Rassilon?" he pondered out loud.

**************

Rose had witnessed everything: the kiss, the Doctor placing his hands on Reinette's head, and the dancing. She'd seen it all through the fireplace portals, running from each to try to catch a glimpse of the action until he broke through the last portal with that horse. He went by himself. She waited, cursing himself for leaving her on a ship with crazy machines out to kill.

The Doctor stepped through the fireplace back into the hallway of the derelict ship. Rose noticed the Doctor was acting off from the minute he stepped through. When coming in to rescue her, he'd freely made derogatory remarks towards Rose.

"You sound just like your mother!" he said in a nasty tone. She knew full well what the Doctor thought of her Mum. It was the first time, at least in this body, that he had said something careless and hurtful. It was almost as though he were a character in a TV show whose lines had been written by a completely different writer.

Rose admitted to being a little passive-aggressive earlier, but comments like hers had never been fodder for insulting comments from the Doctor before. Usually he took her chiding lightly, of course he could keep a horse if he really wanted to — it was his ship! It hurt her deeply to see his demeanor change so quickly. He had also left her without a mere thought to her wellbeing, which out of all that had happened so far was what had hurt the most. She could forgive cruel remarks.

Never the less, he had intervened from the clockwork droids harming his two companions. He swept her into a deep hugging, lifting her off of the floor and closing his eyes tightly whilst inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

"How long was I gone for?" he asked, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Five and a half hours," she replied. Relief flooded her face knowing that the father of her child was back safely and they would be able to leave the dilapidated ship.

"Right, always wait five and a half hours!" he grinned at her, studying her face noting the hint of worry in the mix of emotions radiating from her.  
When from behind him a woman's voice called after the Doctor "Where are you, my Lonely Angel?"

Peering over his shoulder, Rose saw the French Courtesan step through the fireplace, and anxiety shot through her.


	3. Check Mate

The Doctor studied Rose's face for a brief moment and he thought he saw a flash of emotion. Was that panic? Fear? Dread?

"Ah yes, Reinette…" He beamed, promptly letting go of Rose to aid the woman with her luggage. Rose looked crestfallen but only Mickey caught this. Tin Dog maybe, but blind observer he wasn't. His jaw locked tightly as he realized the Doctor was bringing another woman on board the ship. Though he and Rose had broken up a long time ago, he stilled cared about her. Hell, some would even call her his best mate.

What aggravated him most was the fact that the Doctor would kiss another woman, dance with her (as they had both witnessed through the mirror), and all but abandoned Rose without as much as a backwards glance. His fist itched to punch the daft alien. It was especially appalling considering how Rose and the Doctor's relationship had recently deepened. While Rose hadn't said anything, it was pretty easy to see.

"Rose, Mickey, meet the lovely Madame de Pompadour!" he said, taking her arm and beaming proudly as the courtesan gave a proper curtsy.

"Or as I like to call her, 'Reinette.' That means "Little Queen," fancy that!"

"Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps." said Mickey, rolling his eyes. He may not like the new addition, but he was along for the ride just like her.

Rose watched as the Doctor escorted Reinette on his arm to the TARDIS, walk right past her as if she didn't exist. She felt numb in shock and confused. Afraid of what this woman's addition really meant about the status of the Doctor and Rose's relationship.

Immediately after closing the door to the TARDIS, the Doctor worked to get them into vortex, oblivious to the sudden tension that had arisen in the room.

"Rose, can you take Reinette to the wardrobe and then help her find her room?" the Doctor asked.

Reinette promptly whirled around at the mention of her own room and protested. "But, my Lord I am not to stay in your room tonight?" Rose's mouth dropped open before she promptly steeled her expression, and her stomach dropped with a sharp wave of nausea.

It was one thing to wonder in her head if the Doctor had intended an intimate relationship with another woman, but it was another thing entirely to hear it acknowledged from the woman herself. She couldn't bring herself to even think about how he had occupied his time when Rose hadn't been watching through the mirror. Rose eyed the Doctor as Reinette questioned him. Suddenly the Doctor seemed to adopt a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression as he sputtered, "Ah…well…um, no… I don't actually sleep you see, and when I do, I pretty much hog the bed, so…" he smiled, happy he was able to make a small joke to advert the insinuation.

"Rose will show you to your room, won't you Rose?" he chanced an uncertain glance at Rose. Despite her blank expression, he noticed she looked rather pale, her arms folded over her stomach as she stared at the floor.

"Sure, yeah. 'Course," she replied, not meeting his eyes.

Rose turned and promptly left the console room, not waiting for the French woman to follow, nor caring to look back to see if she was.

Abruptly Rose stopped and opened a random door in the hallway that she suspected was intended for the new guest. Peering inside of the room, she was surprised at the modesty of it. After all, when a sentient ship could create your dream room, she often outdid herself. The ship must not have taken well to Reinette.

Rose felt some comfort in knowing the ship mirrored her feelings, as she herself (aside from the flood of mixed emotions involving the Doctor) had sensed that this woman was not meant to be here. As if confirming Rose's thoughts, the ship sent a wave of ill feeling to her.

Rose had started to see people's futures or possible futures, rather. They stretched out in linear lines that branched off into various possibilities, as if someone had inserted wild graphics into a movie. She suspected she was developing a time-sense, perhaps even seeing timelines. However, unable to sit down and grab the Doctor's attention, she would have to wait to confirm. Regardless the woman radiated a strong sense of ill-being, like a puzzle piece that had been jammed together to fit in the wrong place.

Reinette had walked into her room to settle in. "I'll come back within an hour to show you to the wardrobe room, yeah?" Rose said as she stared at the floor. She could see Reinette's figure from the corner of her eye nod and smile as she started to unpack her things.

Rose left for her room, the events of the day had been quite mentally wearing, and she needed to rest for a little bit. All she craved was to lie down and close her eyes, and when she finally did, she awoke to find that she had slept for three hours.

She also found her stomach was churning and she barely made it to the bathroom in time before she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The symptoms were starting; super biology apparently didn't spare you from morning sickness. After cleaning herself up, she went to find the rest of the crew.

Walking into the galley, she saw Mickey and the Doctor listening intently to Reinette as she prattled on about the politics of her courtesan life. Mickey looked bored but was politely nodding, despite the fact that Reinette was clearly only talking to the Doctor.

The Doctor's face lit up when he saw her enter to galley. "Rose, so nice to see you up and about!" the Doctor said, flashing her a big grin.

Rose walked to his side and whispered quietly into his ear. "Doctor, can I talk with you?"

He noticed Reinette had stopped talking and had cleared her throat.

"Ah, um, Reinette was just telling us a story, don't be rude Rose – sit and have a cup of tea." He offered a fresh cup to her, but Rose hesitated in accepting it. The Doctor took note and thought it was quite unusual.

Rose wasn't sure if caffeine was one of the things she could have for the however-many-months months. She forced herself not to even think about her pregnancy duration.

"No, thanks. I'll just…" She motioned towards the door, as she walked out into the hallway.

The Doctor sensed something was bothering Rose, so he quickly jumped up to follow her, popping his head out of the doorway.

"Rose!" the Doctor called after her, "how about game, the four of us, right now?"

Rose shook her head in response but the Doctor persisted. "Ohhhh, come on! What better things have you to do? Top two winners compete for a round of chess, favors for the stakes?"

Against her better judgment, Rose agreed, silently ambling his way.

"Fantastic!" the Doctor exclaimed, rounding up the gang and herding everyone to the library.

Settling around for a game of Monopoly, the Doctor sat down first. Mickey decided to beat Frenchie to the punch and sat down on the love seat right next to the Doctor. He smirked to himself, as she looked putout. Rose opted for an individual seat, next to Reinette and across from Mickey. The Doctor set to explaining the game to Reinette, who looked like she was concentrating so hard on looking like she was paying attention that she didn't seem to actually be paying attention.

The Doctor and Rose fought over who would be the hat piece, with Rose pinching the top of his hand so hard that the Doctor cried out in pain and mock horror, releasing the game piece. Rose grabbed it and flashed him an evil, tongue-in-teeth grin, as she studied the small piece closely. Her smile didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor, it seemed like it had been ages since he'd seen the famous, room-lighting Rose-Tyler-smile.

What the Doctor had forgotten was that Rose was an expert at all things board game. Genius or not, he found himself ousted for first place when he was merely half way around the board. Mickey and Reinette both landed on her property frequently, but Rose opted to ignore charging for rent when they did. However, she painstakingly ensured the Doctor paid up each and every time. Rose had purchased two-thirds of the board by the time Mickey and Reinette all but gave up being interested in the game, as it was clearly between her and the Doctor.

"Alright, I do believe a game of chess is in order!" the Doctor conceded when it was clear Monopoly was done for.

"Stakes?" Rose asked.

"Stakes? Oh, um yes… favors, so think long and hard about," the Doctor said before Rose cut him off.

"Breakfast in bed for a month, and a book read every night until the other person falls asleep," she said eyeing him.

Reinette perked up. "I would love for breakfast in bed brought to us!" she said, beaming at the Doctor.

Rose didn't flinch. Her eyes bore into the Doctor's skull at her comments.

Rose wasn't going to lose.

"Oh, well… um…fine, I suppose…I agree to those terms," the Doctor rambled, scratching the back of his head. Rose was bound and determined to make it near impossible for him and Reinette to have alone time, at least during the evening when no one was around and such things could potentially happen.

"Good. Me first," she said as he started the clock. She moved her pawn and hit the clock so fast she smacked his hand in the process.

The Doctor had the feeling this was going to be a tension-filled game, so much for team building, he thought.

He moved a pawn and hit the clock. Rose again moved so quickly that the Doctor was in her line of hitting. She was getting a rather satisfying slap in each time. The third time he withdrew just before she could manage another slap.

He made a smug smile at her as he retracted his hand before contact.

"Check," she said, a smug smile playing on her face.

The Doctor's smile faltered and he looked taken aback, how could she have checked him within three moves? Oh, yes. She had him checked, he noted as he studied the board. Though how she managed to do that so quickly was beyond him. No matter, he thought, and moved another piece to block her advance.

"Check." Rose slapped the clock hard.

The Doctor swallowed. Was Rose mad at him? He made tentative move. "Check," she said after moving her piece and slapping the clock quickly. His astonishment at her prowess was chewing through his time. He wasn't worried though, he was a genius! Not even Leonardo De Vinci had been able to best him, and the old man had little else to do (when he wasn't painting) than to play chess with his apprentice. The Doctor moved and slapped the clock.

"Check mate," Rose said, slapping the clock so hard it busted, but never breaking her gaze at him. He blanched as he scanned the board, she couldn't have bested him! He looked at the board and found that her queen, castle, and horse had backed his king into a corner.

Rose raised her eyebrow and ran her tongue over her teeth smugly.

"I'm heading to bed now, ten minutes until book time," she said, making her expectations quite clear.

"And I'd like a full English tomorrow morning," she added before popping up and walking out of the room. The Doctor's eyes followed her with a worried expression on his face. Yes, Rose was clearly angry with him but he was sure she would come around. What was more baffling was how Rose had suddenly gotten so good at chess.

Rose went to her room, hopped in the shower for a quick rinse, and prepared for bed. Just to make things crystal clear, Rose wore four layers to bed: cami, t-shirt, sweat shirt, and (just for good measure) a zip up jacket. For her bottom-half, she wore panties, shorts, sweats, and a long skirt, and last but not least socks and slippers.

The Doctor opened her door tentatively.

"Mind knocking?" she admonished him. He'd never before bothered to knock, after all he had certainly seen all there was to see of the marvelous Rose. Taking in her layers he paused, clearly that wouldn't be the case tonight. The Doctor made for her bed but she stopped him.

"Uh-uh. Chair." She pointed to the chair at her desk, some five feet away. She crawled onto her bed and pulled out her nail kit and polish. The Doctor despised polish as it overwhelmed his senses and made his nose tingle for hours on end. He never allowed the stuff onboard, usually.

The Doctor wiggled around in the hard wooden chair trying to get comfortable. He opened the book to the last spot they'd read from their old nightly routine, when a nightly reading was followed by a round (or four) of passionate lovemaking.

Just before he started reading out loud, he paused and put the book down.

"Rose, I can't help but think you're mad at me. Can we talk about it?" he said softly.

Rose didn't look up from her nail work. She just simply said "Nope," popping the "p."

"Right…well…" The Doctor returned to the book and started to read.

He didn't stop until three and a half hours later when he'd finished the book. Rose didn't miss a beat, grabbed a book from her drawer, and tossed it at him.

"Aren't you ready for sleep, Rose Tyler?" he asked, incredulously.

"Not tired." she said simply, focusing on the drawing she was doing. If it weren't for the fact that the Doctor was being a completely pratt, this would have made for a lovely evening for all intents and purposes.

"Rose, come on now. Clearly, I've done something… you're angry… let's just talk about it. Get it out. Find our Zen-" the Doctor started to say before Rose cut him off.

"I'm fine. Read," she ordered in a tone that spoke that she was clearly not in the mood. The Doctor gave up and resumed reading.

Five hours later, she stopped him. "It's about breakfast time, and I believe I have a full English coming my way?"

"Right, yes! Best get to my duty!" he said jumping up, giving a small stretch before walking over to the bed. He bent to give Rose a chaste kiss on the forehead but she ducked under him, hoping off of the bed, and headed for the bathroom leaving the Doctor snogging air. She slammed the bathroom door for good measure.

The Doctor watched her with a weary expression. He would gladly fulfill his end of the bargain, but he desperately wished to see Rose happy. He had a feeling that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Later that day Rose sought the comfort of the library, sat down and pulled out her trinket. She thumbed the stones and watched them turn a brilliant sparkling red at her touch.

The Doctor was pulling away from her, and she was angry. First Rose had met Sarah Jane and discovered that she was not in fact special to the Doctor. She had thought herself the yin to his yang, the conscious to his actions, the Shiver to his Shake, only to find out that she was one in a long line of companions he had welcomed into his life.

She thought back to the day at the cafeteria when she had first started to suspect she was pregnant. Her suspicion had led to the conversation afterwards where she asked about the possibility of him leaving her too. She wanted to hear that she was different. She thought he had come close to admitting he loved her.

On top of everything, she wanted to tell him she suspected pregnancy, hoping that maybe it would assure her that she was in fact different. That their relationship could have a different outcome than the tragic Aberdeen abandonment that Sarah had found herself in. Then the Doctor had invited Mickey onboard and it was clear that he was trying to put distance between them.

And now there was Reinette. She watched as they had kissed, and as he danced with her. She watched now as the woman was clearly smitten with the Doctor. The worst part was that he flirted right back at her. She touched his elbow, whispered into his ear, and he smiled a smile that Rose once thought was special to her.

Rose worried her bottom lip with her teeth, thinking. Things between her and the Doctor were teetering on dangerous, and the distance wasn't just killing her, it was telling her that she wasn't needed anymore. It was telling her that her role was being filled.

Before now, she might have stayed, but what worried her most was the thought of bringing a child into this universe with a father who gallivanted off to say the latest damsel in distress. Would he leave them behind on a whim? She hoped he wouldn't, but experience was teaching her better.

Rose's thoughts were promptly interrupted when Mickey opened the door to tell her they'd landed on a new planet Rointheta. He was bouncing with joy because this planet was apparently known for its' shopping. That would not have meant much to Mickey normally, except for the fact that there was a whole block devoted to video games in this quadrant.

Rose slipped the trinket into her breast pocket of her jacket, and arose to follow him out to the console room. It amused her to no end when she saw that Reinette had not changed and was wearing her full gown, with that silly wire stuff and probably a dozen petticoats underneath. She'd pay twenty quid to see her run in that outfit.


	4. Empty Handed

Opening the door of the TARDIS, Rose stepped into what appeared to be a shuttlecraft parking lot with the mega mall on the horizon. She heard the Doctor ramble on about the history of the planet, how they came to be the best merchants with the best deals in the galaxy, and how they carried and assortment of the best candies here.

"Pear jelly babies! Can you believe it? Out of all the disgusting things that they would ever carry, let alone invent, PEAR jelly babies," the Doctor said, pulling a horrified face. Rose could almost hear the shudder in his voice from behind her but she couldn't bring herself to watch him escort that woman on his arm.

The Doctor had blessed Mickey to wander to the games block, but told Rose to stay close. However, Rose had no intention of following them. She instead opted to wander into an adjacent store as Reinette and the Doctor went into the confectionary store. The shop she was drawn to happened to be a baby store, and Rose couldn't fight the allure. As she entered, she stilled and took in the size of the inventory that was there.

Miniature hats, shoes, socks. She felt a lump rising in her throat, and tears coming to her eyes as she caught sight of miniature trainers. They were just like the Doctor wore. Her hands brushed the tiny laces and she smiled. She promptly made the purchase, and asked for a plain bag to hide the shoes in.

Rose quickly exited the store and moved away as quickly as she could. She stood outside and closed her eyes, soaking in the warms suns. For one brief moment, she pretended that she was out for a leisurely shopping trip. Then she reminded herself that leisurely was rarely, if anything, fun.

Opening her eyes Rose saw the Doctor and Reinette exited the shop and walked towards her. Rose averted her eyes, instead choosing to enjoy the sun more. Looking back up to the sky and gasped with a look of horror, and the Doctor followed her gaze.

The sky was suddenly littered with three large flaming balls of fire hurtling directly towards the mall. In an instant, everyone looked to the heavens as the sound started to crescendo. Instantly panic erupted as people started to flee.

Time seemed to slow for Rose as she saw the massive fireballs hurtling towards the ground. She calculated the speed and angle of trajectory in her head, and scanned the area it was sure to hit. Two small humanoid alien children stood frozen to their spots watching as adults everywhere were rushing away, each were wide-eyed and radiating fear.

Rose knew she would only be able to save the little girl who was closest, and she sprinted as fast as her body would allow her. Rose swept up the little girl and then tried to steer towards the boy.

Suddenly Mickey appeared out of nowhere and had reached the other child just in time, yanking the boy by the arm and running in the opposite direction. Rose ran away from the fireballs as fast as her legs and body would afford, launching them both to the ground at the moment of impact. She had grabbed the little girl close to her body, cradling the child's head, and curled into fetal position mid-air. Rose landed on her side just .2457 seconds before impact, she had calculated.

The force of the drop should have knocked the wind out of her, but she felt a secondary source of air kick in. Rose wondered if she'd gained a respiratory bypass recently.

Looking up to survey the damage, she found that no one was critically hurt in the immediate vicinity. Rose saw the Doctor on the ground draped protectively over a now hysterically sobbing mass of silk and lace. He hopped to his feet gingerly pulling the Madame onto hers as well. Her crying grew louder, and Rose would have feel sorry for her, if it weren't for the fact that her sobbing grew more intense when the Doctor looked at her.

The little girl's mother raced to collect the girl, and cried hard once the child was protectively in her arms. She was imparting blessings to Rose, who smiled and gave a quick nod before she realized that her own leg had sustained damage. The skin from Rose's shin to her knee was seared pretty severely, a third-degree burn from the looks of it. Her black jeans were grafted to the burn, and when she moved, she winced at the intensity of the pain.

Her left hand also held a deep burn, but probably second-degree. Her breath caught as she thought about her baby. She held her hand over her stomach, she'd need to run tests later to be sure, but she sensed it was okay.

Rose only had a moment to process the injuries before she saw an alien rise out of the 15-foot crater, its round craft smashed from the impact. The alien was huge, around 8 feet tall. It was angry, armed, and facing the Doctor.

Rose was stunned at the sudden flood of knowledge that was occupying her brain with such ease. She quickly identified the alien. Species: Quake Warpers. Planet: Sirius. Demeanor: aggressive.

The massive alien brought his gun from his side holster and held it cross wise before his loud booming voice spoke.

"PLANET OURS. WE TAKE. ON GROUND NOW, WE KILL."

Based on their grammar, Rose was certain this species wasn't particularly bright.

"Leave them alone," shouted the Doctor, "I am a Time Lord, this Planet is protected!" He raised his sonic screwdriver in defense.

Reinette's crying grew louder and he shoved her even further behind himself, shielding her.

The Quake Warper pointed his gun at the Doctor. "YOU DIE!" he boomed.

As the scene unfolded, Rose noted the Quake Warper's companion was passed out towards the top of the crater with his body ejected from the impact. The awake and gun toting Quake clearly hadn't noticed. With Rose situated behind him just out of his line-of-sight, she could probably take him down. Launching herself to the crater's edge, she grabbed the unconscious Quake's gun out of his sling, engaged the gun to its stun sequence, and shot him in the back.

The alien fell unconscious backwards into the crater, smooshing his buddy. Rose lowered her gun as her eyes met the stunned Time Lord in front of her.

"Stun sequence four, seemed rather obvious…" she smiled a small smile and coyly, shrugging.

The Doctored eyed her curiously, trying hard to identify what was different about her.

Mickey and Rose made their way over to Reinette and the Doctor to regroup. The Doctor swooped Rose into his arms in a big hug before she had time to protest. He reeked of expensive, revolting, perfume and Rose wasn't quite sure if it was her extra sensitive pregnant nose, or just the fact that perfume from the 18th century was disgusting. Either way she couldn't stand the smell and she pushed hard against the Doctor cutting their hug short.

Rose rolled her eyes at the sobbing courtesan who was currently trembling and pleading with the Doctor.

"Trouble is afoot, surely we must take safe harbor!" Reinette screamed in sheer panic.

The Doctor glanced at her, furrowing his eyebrow, before turning around to face Rose.

"Rose, can you take her back to the TARDIS?"

Rose paused in surprise, and then set her jaw before turning and saying, "Nope. I've got some more aliens to stun." She promptly turned and walked off.

Mickey smiled back at the Doctor with a look of pride. "Ha! She told you, didn't she, boss?"

The Doctor glared at him before rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "Mickey could you?"

Mickey held up a hand. "Don't worry boss, I'll make sure Reinette gets back safely to the TARDIS." Reinette started to protest as the Doctor turned on heel running after Rose.

Rose couldn't believe the Doctor had the gall to try to send her back to the TARDIS with that theatrical nutcase. Apparently, he no longer considered them to be team. The thought pissed her off considerably and she hastened her walk as fast as her injuries would allow. As she scoped out the smoke rising from the other fireball pits she heard the Doctor.

"Rose!" he shouted after her. She ignored him and used the thought of him pursuing her as motivation to push through the pain and walk faster.

"Rose!" he said again.

This time he was striding next to her casually. Rose damned his quickness. She didn't have the time or energy to have it out with the Doctor. The more she thought about the scene back there, the angrier she got with him. The Doctor grabbed her shoulder forcing her to halt. She turned impatiently and ripped her shoulder out of his grasp.

He face fell a minute in confusion when she broke free, but then he gave her that charming "you-just-must-love-me" smile.

"What?" she demanded more forcefully then she meant to.

His face softened. "Rose, you were brilliant back there."

She didn't move or change her expression.

"How exactly did you know to how to use that gun?" he asked, in surprised awe.

Rose shifted on her feet, contemplating the best answer. 'Gee, Doctor, seems my brain is changing and I'm evolving into a superior being,' didn't seem like the best thing to say at the moment.

The information on alien species, artifacts, and things she had never experienced had been filtering in the past few days. It was almost as if her mind was growing and being filled with this information.

"It was easy, the transmodifier was set for disintegration, just needed a quick adjustment four knocks to a stun sequence that could incapacitate a large elephant. Or well, Quake Warper, in this instance," she said in a hurried release of breath.

The Doctor looked stunned, titled his head, and opened his mouth for another question before Rose yelled at him.

"We haven't got time for this! Now let's go incapacitate the others that are sure to be climbing out of their shuttles about now, before someone gets hurt, yeah?" Rose shouted back at him.

Just before Rose started to walk away he tried to take her hand, but Rose slipped from his grasp and gripped the top of the gun before once again striding off. She was sure acting strange, the Doctor thought something was wrong with Rose. Perhaps a brain-invading virus had a hold of her.

The thought that she was genuinely mad at him passed through his mind, but he wouldn't allow himself to consider it. The Doctor followed behind her. He was off to save another planet and its people with his Pink and Yellow human, but unlike the other adventures, his hand was empty of her grasp.


	5. Leather Memories

Rose and the Doctor were back on the TARDIS and they were now safely in the vortex, in a holding pattern until everyone had a chance to recover for a night. As soon as they had finished corroborating their story with the local planet police and ensuring the Quake Warpers were detained, Rose had taken off for the ship.

She had hoped to get a head start from the Doctor, not only was she livid about the day's events, but the past week's events that had transpired were pushing Rose to the brink. Right now, she focused on making her way to the med bay to check on the baby. She'd sustained a pretty hard fall, and had been very physically active.

Rose remembered when her coworker was pregnant that their supervisor at the store made Rose do any lifting of things over one stone, so she guessed that throwing yourself to the ground was probably not conducive to pregnancy.

Before she entered the med bay, she asked the TARDIS to hide the room for as long as she could manage. Rose quickly ripped off her jacket, found the sonogram-like equipment and gel, and sat back on the table. She guided the wand over her stomach, slowly the two heart beats became louder, filling the room with a steady thumping sound.

She pressed a button and a 3-D image began to appear above her belly. The baby was a healthy, small, manatee-shaped little thing.

She swallowed hard as tears started to form at the grainy sight. Quickly she ordered up what few stats the machine could give to appear on the screen. All its vitals were in perfect range based on the pre-set calculations, but those were set for human pregnancies and she had no clue about Gallifreyan fetuses.

Despite that, however, it was still enough to make her sigh in relief. She wiped away her tears and quickly replaced the machine and any evidence that she'd been using it.

Rose then went about gathering supplies to treat her fresh burns which were throbbing in immense pain, since her attention could finally be focused on them. She cut the jeans around her leg wound, before carefully pulling them off.

Standing in her panties and cami top, she started to peel the jean remnants from her burnt flesh. She hissed as she pulled each piece off of her flesh, each thread was embedded into her skin. Tears brimmed from the pain, but she finally managed to pull each piece out. Just then, the Doctor appeared in the doorway.

"Oh Rose, you're hurt, here – let me…" he said, moving to take the skin regenerator from her hand.

She recoiled from his touch, never meeting his eyes. "Doctor, can I have some privacy? I'm in my knickers here."

"Not like I haven't seen that before," he said with a smug look on his face.

"I'm surprised you remember that, let alone acknowledged it," she said in an even tone, focusing on her task. He winced visibly before she added, "I'm fine."

The Doctor didn't skip a beat. "Nonsense Rose, I am a Doctor, after all." He offered a small smiled at her as he again tried to take over.

"Don't touch me!" she said through clenched teeth.

She was angry, the Doctor noticed. No, angry wasn't quite the word he was looking for , livid seemed to fit more aptly.

"Rose, are you mad at me?" he asked in a little boy voice.

She snorted a derisive laugh that the git was finally catching on. "Nope. Not at all…" she said curtly as she concentrated on healing her skin, finishing the last portion with the dermal regenerator.

He stood by the bedside watching. Then he noticed the large welt on her hand.

"Rose, your hand is hurt, please let me fix it, I can-"

"You know what? I think I'll keep this as is, a scar to remind me."

The Doctor steeled his expression, he was simply trying to help her, and her anger was making it near impossible.

He hated seeing his Rose in pain, especially if he could make a quick fix.

"Why don't you go check on your French whore, I think her delicate silk dress may have ripped. Perhaps she broke a heel. I'm sure she'd love for her 'Lonely Angel' to run to the rescue of her valuables," she spat at him.

"Leave her out of this, Rose."

"Right. Well, you brought her into this mess didn't you?" she retorted.

"If you're going to be mad at me, then be mad at _me_!" he said, thinking Rose was being childish and jealous – for whatever reason he couldn't quite figure out.

Rose shook her head in anger.

"I _am _mad at you! I can't believe what happened, you were almost the exact same distance from me, 3.245 meters distance from those children, and you could have reached them in 2.765 seconds. Me in 2.3, rounding of course, but who did you choose to save? What did the 'All Mighty Time Lord,' 'Protector of the Planet' choose to do? I'll tell you: deck the one woman who was completely out of harm's way."

Not the woman carrying your child_, _Rose thought to herself bitterly. She paused before going in for the kill.

"Tell me truthfully, Doctor, did you do it all just to cop a feel? Pretty sure you needn't go through all that hassle, if that kiss in her room was any indication."

She turned away from him and angrily bandaged her hand up, trying to conceal the wince of pain it caused.

The Doctor was silent. He looked stunned, perhaps even hurt. He swallowed hard.

"I didn't think you saw that," he murmured. Maybe Rose wasn't being childish after all.

Rose went to grab her things and leave when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Rose."

He offered his apology earnestly. It was killing him to see her hurt so much.

She momentarily softened at his tone and the look on his face, meeting his eyes for the first time.

The moment was broken though, when he instinctively grasped her hand and she cried out in pain. He winced, and immediately dropped it.

She nodded to herself. "Thank you, for that reminder," she murmured, her eyes filling with tears. She quickly brushed past him and out the door.

The doctor sat down on the table, looking around the med bay and thinking about how far he and Rose had fallen. It was his fault that he let their relationship become so deep. Not to mention the tender physical intimacy they'd experienced.

These things nagged him in the back of his mind, but at the forefront, he worried about Rose seeing the kiss. True, he had been putting distance between them, but he hadn't meant to bring another woman into his life romantically… had he?

Becoming physical with Rose was the most amazing experience in all of his 920 years. He had never been in love before, not as he was with Rose. It was enough to make him want to run, but he never wanted to lose Rose. And here she was slipping away from him.

The whole of it had forced him to take a step back, but fearful of her wanting to leave, he couldn't tell her he was scared of how deep their relationship had grown. So instead, he put obstacles in his way. Sarah Jane certainly greatened the distance as well, perhaps inadvertently. Then he invited Mickey onboard, though that hadn't worked the way he assumed it would. Mickey and Rose were just friends, he could tell just from Mickey's simple thoughts that nothing but friendship was there.

Then there was Reinette. Clearly, she was infatuated with him, and he'd allowed it to go on. She was one more obstacle in front of the scary relationship that he was developing with Rose.

There was something else going on with her too, but he couldn't quite pin it. Her accuracy calculating time was starting to worry him, humans rarely, if ever could calculate to the exact fraction of a second. Even then, those were geniuses like Albert Einstein. Then there was the whole gun incident, the technology Rose had manipulated in a mere matter of seconds would take 21st century Earth Scientists hours (at least) to figure out.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

Even though he was sure that distance would help him, make him feel better and less scared, it had quite simply backfired. It didn't help in the least, instead it was slowly killing him and at the same time hurting Rose.

He wasn't sure how to, but he needed to fix things.

The tears that Rose had forced to stay in during that whole confrontation spilled recklessly from her eyes as she hastily fled from the med bay. She made it to her room and closed the door, promptly locking it. Rose grabbed her desk chair and jammed it under the door in case any persistent aliens with their sonic screwdrivers tried to jimmy their way past the lock.

There was a knock on the door. She didn't respond, simply rubbed her head and the headache that was brewing.

"Rose? It's Mickey. Can you open up a moment?"

She dried the rest of her tears and opened the door. Mickey stood in front of her, holding her blank and slightly crumpled shopping bag.

"I wouldn't have thought this belonged to you, but I know I saw you drop it before hitting the deck with that kid back there. Nice moves, by the way."

She smiled and took the bag, giving a meek 'thanks.' Mickey eyed her, it was clear what was going on, but what he suspected seemed unimaginable. She was carrying an alien git's baby. Well, maybe not so unimaginable given all that seemed to be happening. But he wasn't going to press her.

"I'm here if you need to talk, Rose. Tin Dog at your service and you know why they call dogs a woman's best friend, right? Because dogs just sit and listen with no judgment."

"I won't tell," he added, motioning towards the bag.

Rose searched his eyes and knew he was serious. She gave him a quick hug.

"I do have one thing to ask of you though, can you please show that French bint where the closet is? I'm scared she's going to ask me to help her undo all those strings and petticoats." He gave a mock shudder that Rose couldn't help but laugh at.

"And ten quid if you can get her to take a bath," he added with a serious expression. Rose smiled and nodded at his request. Best to set off now before she sank into the bed for what she was sure would be a restless night's sleep.

She placed a hand on the wall and spoke to the TARDIS, "Do me a favor old girl? Keep him away until I'm ready?" Rose was shocked when the answer came.

"_Yes, love," _the ship answered verbally.

Knowing the ship would keep the Doctor out of her way didn't keep Rose from walking briskly through the ship, scared at any moment she would run into him. She found Reinette in the TARDIS gardens, watching the simulated blue sky with a smile.

"How's about we take you to the wardrobe, yeah?" she asked the Madame.

Reinette gave her a beaming smile. "I would be remiss to forsake such an opportunity. A vessel such as this creates magic; a wardrobe room must be dazzling."

Rose did her best to plaster a smile to her face. As they entered the room, Reinette gasped at the sheer size of the wardrobe room. She began to walk through the rows, her hands gliding along the material of the clothes, occasionally pulling out a piece to stare inquisitively at them.

She stopped at a section of dressed similar to her era's styles, and peered at the various under garments at the side. Rose, however, was toeing the ground with her shoes, arms crossed and counting the minutes until she could flee to the comfort of her room.

Her gaze lifted to the row beside her and her breath caught. There was his leather jacket. She slowly reached out and stroked the shoulder, down the arm, remembering when his hand stood waiting at the end of it, ready and waiting for her. Only her. Tears prickled her eyes and she couldn't help but pull the piece out.

The French woman had started talking but Rose wasn't making out her words, her attention was solely focused on the jacket. She pulled her light pink hoodie off of her body, revealing a light blue cami top underneath. She took the jacket off of the hanger.

As she was about to slide it on, Reinette spoke up.

"You are with child," she said, motioning towards Rose's abdomen.

Rose froze like a deer in headlights, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Is it…obvious?" she stammered.

Reinette smiled kindly before she spoke. "Only to one who has carried a child before."

Rose ventured a glance to meet her in the eye and felt sorry for the woman, clearly she had earned the wisdom that the Doctor seemed to find so attractive.

"That is a strange article of cloth," she said, gesturing towards the jacket and pulling a slightly disgusted face.

Rose laughed in her head, thinking how different things would have been if the woman's "Lonely Angel" had shown up to rescue her in this piece. Rose looked down and studied the jacket. It was so long that it swallowed her arms a few inches. She studied the worn lines or the arms in reverie.

"Could you help me pick out a piece that the Doctor would like?" Reinette asked, fingering a particularly lacey frock. She paused before venturing further.

"Is the Doctor the father?" Reinette asked, her smile growing into a smug, knowing sort of look. "I thought perhaps with your condition I was brought aboard to-" and suddenly she was speaking French.

Rose was caught off guard for a moment, but suspected the TARDIS has stopped translating the French properly in order to spare Rose the end of that sentence.

Rose felt a rush of emotions. Did Reinette think she was there to bed the Doctor while Rose was pregnant? To share the Doctor? Of course, maybe she was fine with idea of sharing, which shouldn't have surprised Rose because she was after all, the king's _mistress._

"If you'll excuse me, I'm feeling sick," Rose said as she rushed out of the room.

She'd done her part to show Reinette the wardrobe, hell if she was going to help her into another dress, let alone pick out the French whore's lingerie.

She ran back to her room, closed the door, and finally laid down on her bed. Tears prickled her eyes as she thought about the Doctor's previous regeneration. His scent still lingered on the leather. She was certain he wouldn't have given that woman the time of day back then.

Probably didn't have enough branches, she thought to herself. The memory made her produce a small laugh out loud, as she recalled him flirting with a tree-creature on their first date to the end of planet Earth.

_He_ certainly would have handled things differently. Though, she wasn't sure he'd have taken to the news of being a father well given his hate for domestics, she wished that was her only problem.

Rose surveyed her bedroom and came to a decision that crushed her inside: It was time for her to leave. She didn't want to be second place to anyone, but until a few days ago even being second-best wouldn't have been enough to drive her away. She would have stayed and at least fought to have a semblance of a friendship with the Doctor, but she was no longer just Rose.

She was Rose: future mother. She was resolute that she would never keep her child from knowing his father, but she would not watch as he played hero and lover to countless women throughout the galaxy, all the while his kid watched and felt abandoned.

Rose pulled out her backpack, the one that had been made bigger on the inside, and started to go through her drawers. As she sifted through her clothes, Rose realized most of her items would not only cease to fit her, but they no longer represented who she was. They screamed 'naïve shop girl with a penchant for pink.'

It was time to put away childish things. She pulled out a few items, then went to the closet and found what little she wanted to keep.

"Hey old girl, can you take care of whatever I leave behind? Maybe eco-cycle it, or add it to the wardrobe?"

The TARDIS sent her a wave of love, and when Rose returned to her bag on the bed, she found a stack of items the TARDIS was gifting to her. Lifting the clothes, she noticed they were maternity clothes, bunched in the right places with spandex to accommodate a growing belly. Next to the clothes was a necklace with a piece of rounded coral the size of a marble.

She held the necklace and instantly noticed that her connection to the TARDIS was drastically diminished. She put the necklace on and felt the cold shock of being alone. No warm humming, song, images, or communication. Rose instantly understood what this was – the TARDIS had given her a way to go undetected, as long as she wore this, the TARDIS wouldn't be able to find her.

Her bag was nearly packed, Rose pushed the many collectables she'd accumulated into the trash, as many of them gifted from the Doctor from the various places they visited and would hurt too much to take with her.

She saw the last thing left in her room: her photo album. She opened it and smiled, the first few pages were shots of her first Doctor- big ears, blues eyes, and a "fantastic" grin. Her heart ached for one more moment with him, but now he was nothing more than memories and a few photographs. She pulled all of his photographs out. She didn't think she could bare to keep pictures of his current form.

Still, unable to help herself, Rose peaked at the other pictures that had her – strike that – _Reinette's_ New New Doctor.

The last image caught her attention, it was a picture of Rose at her mother's New Year's Eve party and in the background, huddled on the floor playing with a model space craft was the Doctor and a friend's little boy. The Doctor's face was lit up, probably explaining in excruciating detail the many inaccuracies with the model itself. Her resolution faltered; maybe she was being too hard on him? Maybe she was over reacting. Perhaps he didn't feel for Reinette the way she thought he had.

Rose's determination faltered, she took a deep breath and left to find the Doctor.


	6. Two Kisses

The Doctor had come from the med bay to the library, his favorite place to sit and think. He was making one huge, idiotic mistake after another. One would think I'm 'Mickey the Idiot! Most impressive being in all of creation, me, but right mess when it comes to what matters most,' he thought glumly to himself. He drug his hands over his face.

The door to the study opened and the Doctor found himself hoping it was Rose come to talk out their recent row. Instead it was Reinette who walked in.

"Hello Reinette, can I help you find something?" He stood and offered to her in a friendly manner, before taking in her _very _skimpy lingerie. Reinette smiled and closed the distance. "I have come to find you, my lonely angel." Before he knew it Reinette was not only kissing him but she had tackled him to the floor.

His eyes were wide and he lay frozen in shock as she lay into his mouth, biting and sucking at his motionless lips. Right then he heard Rose enter the study.

Making her way to the library, where she intuitively knew he would be, Rose opened the door.

"Doctor, I'm ready to talk-" she'd started and then abruptly came to a stop at the scene before her.

The Doctor was pinned underneath a near-naked Reinette who was snogging him deeply, his oxford pulled out of his pants and up his abdomen. His hands were frozen on the ground. He gasped and jumped up when he heard Rose. Reinette looked slightly annoyed but had a large smile on her face as she coyly wiped her lips clean, staring at Rose.

"Rose!" the Doctor shouted, startled.

Rose promptly turned on her heel and half stormed, half ran down the hallway.

"Rose, WAIT!" he yelled desperately as she fled.

Tears of anger filled her eyes, but she was damned if she'd cry over this. Any lingering doubt about leaving had vanished. She thundered into the console room, and spoke out loud to the TARDIS.

"Okay old girl, Powell Estates 2006. Show me how to operate you!" Instantly images of buttons, levers, and settings filled her mind in rapid succession. Rose firmly executed each lever, and the TARDIS started to dematerialize.

He watched as Rose left, and he desperately called after her. Oh this was bad, really, really, really bad. And add a few more 'reallys.'

He turned to Reinette, Oncoming Storm raging, "_Never _do that again. I am not sure what impression you are under, Madame, but I most certainly did NOT invite you onto my ship to be accosted by you!" he raged, turning to run after Rose.

The Doctor felt the ship suddenly start to move, his bewilderment suddenly turned into panic as he registered what was happening. He ran into the console room just in time to see Rose having finished putting in the coordinates and commands for the Powell Estate, as he confirmed from the read out on the screen.

Rose had spun from the console fuming, seeing his presence she set her jaw, despite a tiny traitorous tear slipped from her eye. She started towards the corridor, refusing to make eye contact as he grabbed her by the shoulders - he was desperate to stop this from happening.

"Rose, listen to me – that wasn't what you thought. Please, please just give me the chance to explain."

She shook her head violently, still not making eye contact, but refusing to listen and trying to loosen herself from his grip.

"Everything has gone pear-shaped, you don't understand!" he continued.

Rose scoffed. "I understand more than you think, even if I am a stupid ape."

The Doctor cringed at her words, even if it had been his former self who had made those comments countless times, disparaging the human race. It was not truly what he thought when it came to this species, and he absolutely didn't think those things when it came to his Rose. Well, maybe Mickey-the-Idiot, but that was beside the point. Clearly he had a lot to apologize about.

"Rose, you aren't stupid, you are the furthest thing from stupid. You're brilliant, in fact. Brilliant, and pink and yellow, and my best friend. Can't you see?"

"Friend. Right. Yeah, we're best mates," she said nodding resolutely to herself "...and that's all we'll ever be." She again tried to move but the Doctor was stronger than her and he held her firmly in place.

"We are more than just friends, I've lived a long life before I met you, but I didn't really start living until you first took my hand in that basement. Don't you see? You're everything to me…" he pleaded, looking into her eyes as she stared past his shoulder.

"And nothing, all at the same time. You really are good with paradoxes, eh Doctor?"

"It's not true! How can you not know how I feel about you? Rose Tyler, I-" he exhaled, unable to finish the sentence. He was uncertain that this was the right moment to say _those _words, so he opted to show her instead.

He pulled her to him by her shoulders and kissed her passionately. Rose leaned into the kiss and responded the moment he kissed her, body betraying her.

He gasped and pulled away, licking his lips repeatedly as comprehension dawned on him. Elevated levels of progesterone, astounding levels of HCG, and a burgeoning calcium deficiency…

"Rose…You're…You're pregnant…" he said in disbelief. Again licking his lips and tilting his head slightly. "And…not….human…." The Doctor stood stunned, as his mind worked to start piecing everything together.

He studied her hard, but this was _his _Rose Tyler, there was no doubt about it. No alien shape-shifter, no virus over taking her body, the woman before him was his perfect, albeit hormonal, Rose.

She wiped her lips with her hand and closed her eyes, before finally making contact with his.

"You know what the _worst _part of that was, Doctor?" She looked at him, still angry.

He swallowed.

"You _taste _like _her." _

The Doctor made several attempts to form words. His magnificent and impressive brain suddenly unable to string together coherent sentences, as his whole universe had just suddenly been changed by one kiss.

Or if he really thought about it, two kisses – one frivolous, meaningless, and lack luster, and the other with the woman he loved more than anything in his entire lives.

Just then Mickey came running into the console room. "Hey boss, Reinette fainted. We were standing in the galley and she just passed out. I'm not sure what to do…" Mickey shifted uneasily on his feet.

The Doctor registered what Mickey was saying and reluctantly let go of Rose. "I'll be right back, Rose. Right back. Please…just stay. Right back." He pleaded.

Rose stood for a minute, gathering her breath, walked to her room, and grabbed her bag. She slipped the necklace on and made for the door. Just before she reached for the door knob, she paused. She took one final glimpse of the control room, the ghosts of happy memories dancing by as she studied it. Then she kissed her hand and touched the TARDIS wall, before she silently slipped out the door.


	7. About A Man

**A/N - Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Apologies for the delay, I've been on vacation with shoddy wifi access. But fear not, this story is almost completely written on my machine so it will not fall into the realm of unfinished stories. :)**

The Doctor ran through the corridor and back to where he had left Rose, but she wasn't in the console room. Ducking back into the hallway he opened her bedroom door and his hearts broke at the sight before him: Rose's room was empty. It didn't take a genius, despite being one, to figure out that she'd packed her things and left.

She hadn't waited for him during what turned out to be a bid of attention from the courtesan (who was apparently well versed in mock-fainting).There were a few things left in the room, and he slowly crept in to sit on her bed. As he looked around the room, he noticed Rose's abandoned photo album on her bed. Maybe she hadn't left for good, he had hoped. Opening the album he was crushed to find every photo of his old self had been removed, leaving his current regeneration strewn throughout the album. He traced the lines of Rose's smile in the pictures as he ached for simpler time. Clearly, Rose had the same wanting, as she had clung to his old self. She must have trusted him more, and to be honest, he wasn't sure he would have landed in this situation if he was still Pessimist Walking. But at least he'd always put Rose first.

Closing the album, the Doctor blinked away tears. He hadn't been this emotional since after the Time War. Before his Rose came to breathe new life into him. And now she was literally breathing new life into existence for a species that was all but extinct. His remarkable Rose.

As he made to move, a bag wedged between her dresser and bed caught his eye. Pulling out the white bag, he looked inside to find a black and brown box. "Converse All Stars Baby" the box read. The lump in his throat grew when he pulled out a set of identical white trainers, only in miniature form. He vaguely recalled seeing this bag the day he and Rose saved planet Rointheta. Setting the remainder of her personal items back on her bed, the Doctor made his way back to the console room.

Doing a quick scan of the ship back in the control room confirmed Rose wasn't in it, though he had all but guessed she was long gone. He quickly moved to the door and stepped out onto the street, looking for any sign of her. She was gone.

Walking back to the console, the Doctor scanned London for Rose's signal. The screen returned a "source not found" message. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. She couldn't have left the city of London in all of ten minutes! Well, 10 minutes, and 33 seconds, to be exact.

"Help me find her, old girl…" he said to his ship. He was surprised in the lack of response, he turned to the console and asked again. "_Please _help me find her."

The same "source not found" message popped on the screen, and then he realized his ship was intentionally letting Rose slip from his grasp.

The Doctor slumped into the jump seat, running a hand over his face in frustration. Then he jumped up, grabbed a mallet of the control console, and threw it at the ship's glowing tube in anger. The ship responded with deafening silence. Great, now she was angry with him on top of everything else.

He would have to figure this out on his own, without the help of his tools. Shouldn't be too hard, after all, solving mysteries was his talent. But where to start? Knowing Rose, she'd seek out her friends for help. Since the Mickster was here with him, he'd start with the one person they both had in common now: Sarah Jane.

Rose made quick work of running from the TARDIS, darting through alleyways and then through stores, and back out onto the streets. She was confident she had put enough distance between her and the ship. She stopped to recoup on a bench tucked in an alley way, resting her head on the brick and closing her eyes.

Wanting nothing more than to see her Mum, Rose held back tears. She couldn't go back to her old home and live as if the past year hadn't happened. Even back then and being nineteen years old, her Mum had treated her as a twelve-year-old-adolescent. She had certainly matured, though much of it was still out of her mother's observation which meant that Rose was still a child to her Mum. Still, sometimes Jackie could surprise her with some deep wisdom. And if she needed anything at all right now, it was some sound advice.

Pulling out her cell, she dialed her Mum and insisted they meet at a coffee shop deep in London. It was a place right next to the laundromat where she and her Mum used to do their laundry back in the day. Sure, it was out of the way, but back then she pretended it was like a nice little day trip vacation.

Sitting in the warmth of the mid-day sun, Rose spotted her Mum up the street walking towards her. Jackie closed the distance with her arms open and a slightly stressed look on her face.

"Hello Sweetheart! It is so good to see you," her Mum said hugging her a bit too tightly. "Been ages since that Martian brought ya home for a good home-cooked meal." She sat down across from Rose and leveled with her. "Why did you insist on coming all the way out here, Rose? I had some things to give you back at the house. Guess that doesn't matter now," she said giving her a look. Rose shoved a teacup and tea kettle towards Jackie.

"Have a cuppa, Mum."

"Oh alright," Jackie said, frowning and pouring herself a cup.

"I have some news, Mum," Rose started.

Jackie eyed Rose carefully.

"Mum, I'm…" she paused taking a deep breath, "…pregnant."

Jackie froze mid-sip. "OH MY GOD I KNEW IT! I'M GOING TO HAVE A MARTIAN GRANDBABY!" Jackie's shrieking grew attention from folks on the street. "Oh, it's going to be awful, I won't be able to take it anywhere in public-"

"MUM!" Rose yelled cutting her mum off while slamming her hands on the table and closing her eyes in anger. When she opened them she saw a very startled Jackie looking at her in shock.

"Maybe your grandchild is an alien baby, but I will NOT sit here and listen to you insult it, or me. I know you aren't exactly the biggest fan of the Doctor, but either you keep your negative opinion to yourself or I'm leaving."

Rose made to stand up to leave, but her mum quickly reached for her.

"No, Rose, stay. I'm sorry."

Rose eyed her mother before slowly sitting back into her seat. She overheard a stranger commenting on the situation "If my daughter was having a foreign doctor's baby, I'd be thrilled!" She suppressed a giggle at that comment.

"So where is himself then?" Jackie asked.

"It's…complicated, I guess you could say," Rose said, suddenly taking interest in her tea and not quite meeting her mum's eyes.

"You mean to tell me that alien git sacked you the minute he knocked you up?" she hissed loudly in an attempt to be quieter.

Rose sighed. She knew this might not have been such a good idea. Yes, she was beyond hurt and angry at the Doctor, but the last thing she needed was her mum berating him.

Rose again asked her mum to be supportive of her and not berate the Doctor. She only continued once Jackie swore she wouldn't make another disparaging remark. She explained the whole situation to her, and Jackie (surprisingly) kept her word.

"Oh Rose, love. I can't believe it. The way he looked at you, it was obvious you two were hopelessly in love with each other. Clearly he is an idiot." Rose started to protest but Jackie silenced her. "But so are you. You didn't even give him a chance to talk things through. He finds something out like this, and pleads with you to stay, but you're too prideful and you just leave! Not that I blame you, but really Rose, you couldn't give him a chance?"

"I gave him a chance, Mum. I tried telling him so many times, and each time he let _her_ be a distraction. It was clear what he was choosing."

Jackie sighed, and pushed her empty teacup away. Clearly her daughter wasn't going to reconcile with him willingly.

"Can't you just go back in time and tell him?" She said waiving her hand dismissively in the air.

"Not quite, Mum."

"Well. All I know is 'Big Ears and Leather' wouldn't have done this to you. At least not the other woman part, as for the up-the-duff part, well God knows he looked at your arse as though he'd seen his first Christmas ham…"

"MUM!" Rose yelled loudly in shock. Then it hit her. Maybe her Mum was onto something.

"Listen, I can't come around to your apartment for a while. I have something to settle, call you in a few days, yeah?" she said hurriedly, gathering her belongings and kissing her Mum on the cheek.

Jackie turned and watched her daughter walking down the street. She gave her an exasperated look, shook her head, and finished her daughter's half-eaten scone.

Rose was off to see a man about a man.


	8. Crushed Roses

The Doctor jumped out the TARDIS and rushed to knock on Sarah Jane's door, pausing for a moment to preen. He was sure Rose was here, it made logical sense. He didn't think she would talk to her mother out of sheer embarrassment, and Sarah being a friend of approximately the same age led the Doctor to believe she'd make the perfect confidant.

Sarah Jane opened the door with a look a shock on her face. "Doctor! I'm surprised to see you again so soon!" she said with a genuine large smile. "Is the world ending? Because if so I might as well stop my bill-paying session I was just completing…"

"Has she been here?" he asked hopefully. Sarah Jane tilted her head and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Sorry, who are we talking about, Doctor?"

"Oh, um, Rose. You remember her? Blonde, yay high," he said, leveling his hand and her exact height (he was a Time Lord, after all).

"Ah, your _almost-too-young-assistant. _Getting old in your age, can't keep track of them anymore? Come on in…."

"I take that as a no?" the Doctor inquired, his disappointment instantly showing on his face.

"Oh Sarah, so nice to see you, haven't aged a day, how's the boy?" Sarah Jane prompted, mockingly.

"Ah, yes, right. Sorry, rude, not ginger… Can I?" He motioned to her table.

"So, Sarah Jane…nice to see you, haven't-" he started with a smirk before he cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll cut to the chase: No, she hasn't been here." He started to get up to his feet to leave before Sarah admonished him. "Sit. Down."

"So, Doctor… If my intuition is right, and it almost always is, all is not right in the Time And Relative Dimension In Space realm, is it?" Sarah said, pouring tea into two cups before joining him at the table.

The Doctor sighed, leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples with one hand.

"No. Definitely not. I've lost Rose and desperately need to talk with her," he said, hoping Sarah would leave it at that.

"Care to talk about it?" She asked as she studied his face.

"Um, well, not really…."

"That wasn't a question, Doctor," Sarah Jane clarified with a smile.

The Doctor reluctantly recapped everything, cringing at the parts where he invited Reinette on board and discovered Rose was pregnant.

Sarah sat in stunned silence, absorbing the story. She felt pangs of guilt about prodding the Doctor to invite Mickey into the TARDIS, and about how she dealt with meeting Rose for the first time. She had thought it was a petty jealous rivalry, but it was now clear how the Doctor felt about Rose. And the Doctor? Having sex? Sarah couldn't process that piece of information right then.

"So, what is your plan, Doctor?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to do about any of this," he said, his determination slipping from his grasp quickly.

Just then they heard a voice calling from outside. "My Lonely Angel, where is thou?"

The Doctor froze, closing his eyes in dread. Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.

"YOU DIDN'T TAKE HER BACK TO HER TIMELINE?" Sarah raised her voice incredulously.

He winced as he caught the look of distaste and surprise on her face.

"I… well that is to say, ah…no," he said meekly.

Sarah gave him a glare and shook her head.

"Well, I'll tell you what I think," she said pointedly. "You're a right idiot when it comes to relationships. You had NO RIGHT to start a romantic relationship with a _child, _and then crush her by inviting some other woman on board who clearly was a replacement."

"She isn't a replacement," the Doctor said indignantly.

"Really? Blonde, young-ish, poised, smart, a mistress trained in ways of sex?" Sarah countered. "And then on top of everything, you use Rose. You pretend you love her. How is she going to care for a baby when she's a baby herself? She doesn't seem very capable of doing much more than working at a minimum wage shop for the rest of her life."

The Doctor was taken aback at Sarah's tone, and he bristled at her words.

"She isn't a child, she may 'only' be twenty, but she is the brightest, cleverest and most talented human I've ever met! Any child would be _lucky _to have Rose as its mother. She's loyal, kind, funny, and far greater than this world deserves…" he said passionately. "…Than I deserve…." he added quietly. "And I most certainly do love her," he sighed, staring at his now cold tea. "If I have to spend the next thousand years chasing after her, proving to her my love, regenerate myself to the brink of extinction, then that's what I will do."

Sarah Jane dropped her scowl and smiled, her demeanor completely changing.

"There he is. Good man." She beamed at him. "Go get her, tiger."

The Doctor looked amazed and then broke into a large grin. "Why Sarah Jane, were you testing me?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"You bet I was. Now listen, Rose is indeed a wonderful and brilliant woman. Might have to agree with you that you don't deserve her but- OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE WILL YOU SHUT HER UP?" Sarah yelled when the sound of the French woman's calls started the surrounding neighborhood dogs to howl in unison.

"Ah, right. Yes. I'm sorry to drag you into all of this. I don't want to make you feel…" He searched for the words, trying to acknowledge the awkwardness of talking about his true love to a woman who loved him before.

"Doctor, unrequited love is a tough thing to overcome. But I did, and I'm okay. Great even! But when that love is reciprocated, when two people clearly love each other like you and Rose do, you'd be a fool if you didn't go and fix it. And I'll personally see to it that you are held accountable for those roses she is crushing," she said looking out the window. "Funny the irony of that in both a literal and figurative sense," she mused.

The Doctor hastened to make an exit. Sarah had given him a lot to think about. He thanked Sarah Jane and set off to reclaim the woman he loved. But first things first, he scuttled Reinette back into the TARDIS.


	9. Old Faces

Rose made the 4 o'clock tube into Cardiff, she was on a mission. Right now she needed to find out more about the health of her baby, and there was only one person who could give her definitive answers. She had only one other friend who was well-versed in aliens, but she hadn't seen him in a long, long time. According to the Doctor, Jack was "rebuilding the Earth." More like _repopulating_ she thought and giggled to herself.

But other than that really vague reference, Rose had nothing else to go on. Rose did know, however, that Jack got around, and since he got around, someone, somewhere would know how to find him. It was with that thought that Rose came up with a plan.

Sitting down on a park bench, Rose rested her sore feet. After leaving the hotel she'd stayed at overnight, she had spent the better part of her morning posting fliers all over town. Using an image of Jack from her phone, and the local copy supply store, Rose had crafted fliers. The plain fliers asked if anyone had seen this man recently and if so to call Rose's number. Simple, yes, but it oughta grab someone's attention.

Just then a dark haired woman sat next to Rose.

"Are you the owner of all these fliers?" the woman asked in a thick Welsh accent, eyeing her cautiously, and showing her a ripped-down flier.

"Yes I am, do you know where I can find Jack?" Rose asked, perking up with an eager look on her face.

"Depends, what do you need him for?" she said, avoiding the question.

"My name is Rose Tyler, Jack is an old friend of mine and I desperately could use a friend right now." She said looking at her shoes, but being completely candid with this stranger. "He is the only one who can help me with a situation I'm in right now."

"Did he leave you 'up the duff'?" The woman point-bank asked but with a completely serious face.

Rose laughed. "No! Though clearly you know Jack well, yeah?"

The woman couldn't help but smile. "My name is Gwen, Gwen Cooper. I'm a colleague of Jack's, and a good friend. So you'll forgive me for being a little weary but we are in a dangerous line of work."

"Are you a time agent, too?" Rose asked quietly.

Gwen didn't respond but motioned with her head and said, "Follow me."

Rose followed Gwen a short distance to Roald Dahl Plass, where she stopped abruptly in the middle of the square.

"The entrance to our…facilities… is hidden. I need you to swear you'll never tell another person about what you see-"

Gwen was immediately cut off by a familiar voice bellowing out from behind her somewhere. Rose searched the area but didn't see anyone. Suddenly Jack stepped out of thin air.

"ROSIE!" he yelled, running to pick her up in a sweeping hug. He set her back down and had a brilliant smile set on his face. "I saw you and my Gwen here on the monitor, and I just couldn't believe my eyes! HOW ARE YOU!?" He bellowed.

Gwen looked around to see if he was drawing attention, but it seemed no one noticed. She cleared her throat and handed Jack the flier.

"It seems you're a trouble magnet on so many different levels," she said annoyed "do you know how much attention this could draw?" Gwen looked miffed, Rose thought and immediately feeling guilty.

Jack stared at the picture. "That is a great photo, Rosie – love it. But, you gotta admit, not as great as in person, eh?" He grinned back at Rose, ignoring Gwen's annoyance.

His expression softened looking at Rose. "Are you all right? Where's the Doctor?" he asked, sensing there was more to the story than a quick visit.

Rose bit her lip and pushed her hair behind her ear, and Jack saw she was fighting back tears.

"Hey Gwen, Rose and I are going to go for a walk, hold the fort down for me?" Gwen gave him a look, but nodded and headed off in the opposite direction.

As Rose and Jack walked he filled her in on everything he had been doing since he had last seen her, and looked at her like she was crazy when she busted out laughing at the name "Torchwood." Rose filled him in on how the whole thing got started and they had a good laugh. She really did miss Jack, he may have been a man-whore but he was always a great friend.

Once they reached the pier, Jack and Rose sat on the concrete edge and looked out over the water.

Brushing a stray lock of hair that the wind had misplaced, Jack finally prodded Rose for information. "Why are you here Rose, what happened? Where is the Doctor?"

Rose couldn't meet his eyes when she relayed the story, but she saw him stiffen when she told him the last part.

"I'm pregnant, Jack. With his baby. I'm changed too, I'm not…well, human anymore. And he…" she paused choked up with emotion "he doesn't _want _me."

"Rose Tyler, I find that impossible to believe. And I've seen, hell _done, _many impossible things," he reassured her.

"So, Rose Tyler, you are pregnant! Up-the-duff, knocked-up, bun-in-the-oven, preggers, in a family way…I'm sure I'm missing a few?" Jack teased.

Rose rolled her eyes but smiled her first big and happy grin in a while. Jack rubbed her back softly, letting silence fall between them before he spoke up. "What can I do?" he asked.

"The thing is Jack, I don't know much about babies. Let alone alien babies. I have no idea if he is okay, healthy, normal, what to expect. I'm so lost, and the one person who would know, I can't ask."

Jack nodded in understanding. "Well, Rose, that's not exactly true."

"No, Jack, I can't handle being around him and that French woman. I-" she started to protest but he cut her off.

"Rose, I can take you to see him before all of this happened. Back before he changed. Big ears, big nose, leering possessiveness. It's yours if you're interested," Jack offered as matter-of-factly as he could, tapping the vortex manipulator on his wrist.

"But, wouldn't that be crossing my own timeline?" she asked worriedly.

"Well, not if it was meant to happen this way, and not if we target a time when you were away from the Doctor. Like visiting your mom maybe?"

"If we did this though, wouldn't he have already remembered? Known about this, I mean?" she wondered out loud as she contemplating the decision before her.

Jack grinned. "Only one way to find out," he said, standing and offering his hand to her. Rose hesitated a moment before accepting.

"Can you think of a time when you visited your mom, when the Doctor was away on a mission?" Jack asked.

"I visited my Mum on my 20th birthday, December 10th. The Doctor didn't stay, said he went to planet Kelkat to pick up some parts for the TARDIS." Rose recalled her time apart from the Doctor. Whether he was telling the truth about his whereabouts, she didn't know, but she hoped it was true.

"Ah, Kelkat, lovely bartering market there. Great place to pick up the kinkiest of beings too…" he said wistfully. "Right, locking onto the TARDIS signature for December 10th, 2005," he said sobering up and grabbing Rose around the waist. With a quick pop they disappeared.

It was as though Rose had simply blinked and her surroundings had changed. She opened her eyes to see herself in the TARDIS, or rather the _old _TARDIS, looking a bit worse for the ware and battle-worn – just the way her first Doctor liked it. Jack was blocking her view of the console, and facing the doors. He quickly whipped around at the sound of the Doctor protesting.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing here?" yelled the Doctor in all of his glorious Northern accent. Rose couldn't see him, but hearing his voice brought tears instantly to her eyes. He may still have been the same man, but it certainly didn't feel like he was. Right now all she wanted to do was burry herself in his chest and smell the scent of leather and comfort.

"Doctor! Haven't seen you in, gosh a few hundred years for me. Nice to see you, dashing as ever!" he said winking, taking a few steps towards the Doctor.

"I said, what the hell are you doing here?" the Doctor repeated, cutting to the chase in this regeneration's typical blunt manner.

Jack smiled and stepped aside.

The Doctor's expression took on one of shock and bewilderment.

"Rose…." was all he could manage to utter, unfolding his arms in astonishment. Judging by the tears in her eyes, and how something was a bit off about her, he gathered this wasn't his present Rose.

Rose tentatively took steps towards the frozen Time Lord, tears threatening to spill over in her eyes, and reached the palm of her hand to his cheek.

"I've missed this face…. so much," she said, her voice breaking but her face with a soft smile.

The Doctor didn't say anything, he simply studied her for a moment with a worried expression, and then pulled her in for a tight hug. They stood that way for a minute, and Jack simply bowed his head to give them some privacy.

The Doctor sighed and reluctantly extricated himself from Rose. He looked at Jack wearily before speaking up.

"I take it something super important has happened for you to risk the timelines like you have. You're a time agent, for Rassilon's sake. You know better than to mess with this stuff," he said with traces of anger lacing his voice.

"Yep. I know the rules, easier to break them that way. And better to ask forgiveness than permission," he said with a wry smile. The Doctor made to protest but Jack cut him off. "Rosie needs you. I wouldn't have taken her here if it weren't for the urgency of it. No one else can help her, Doc." He paused as the Doctor studied Rose.

"I'm going to go for a wander, see if my old room is still here. I swear I left my best pair of hand cuffs there…." Jack made his way down the hall and disappeared.

The Doctor lifted Rose's chin so she would meet his eyes and simply lifted his eyebrows pleading for an explanation.

"I…um…I'm… Oh Doctor, how much can I tell you without messing up timelines?" she asked.

He smiled. "Don't worry, I'm a Time Lord, I have tricks up my sleeve for just these purposes. We are afforded a bit of leeway when it comes to the past, present, future. So start from the beginning," the Doctor explained, trying to keep his tone as pleasant as he could and keep the panic out of his voice.

"I'm pregnant, Doctor," she paused to take a breath and saw him immediately tense. "-It's yours," She followed up immediately.

His jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms in front of him. "Not possible," he said simply.

"LOOK at me Doctor, really truly look at me….do I look human to you? Hell, kiss me if you need to do whatever it is you do with your tongue, which I've never fully been able to understand…and I mean that in the weird-science-y way, not the fabulously dirty way."

The Doctor studied her face more intensely before reaching into his leather jacket and pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He whirred the device over her, and anyone else wouldn't have been able to catch the brief expression of confusion that crossed his features before he steeled his expression.

Rose sighed. "Believe what you want, Doctor, but you are the only one who can tell me if the…baby… is okay. If I can carry it alright… if we're going to be alright. I'm not asking for anything else," she said, staring at the floor unable to meet his gaze.

"Not even asking anything from future you," she added.

"I'm alive, then? Why are you here with this me? Did you leave because I changed?" he asked in confusion.

"No, it's not that." Rose searched for the right thing to say.

The Doctor put his sonic screw driver away and reached his hand out silently to lead her to the med bay when tried but failed to form words. She smiled to herself at how good it felt to hold his hand again.

The Doctor motioned for Rose to sit on the gurney, and pulled the necessary items out. Grabbing a seat he pulled himself towards Rose and gestured for her to lie back. As she did, a small tendril fell into her eyes. The Doctor reached up to gingerly brush it from her eyes.

"I take it I've regenerated then?" he asked. Rose simply nodded and studied his features. He sighed and then turned the machine on. Rose watched as the text she came to know as Galifraen scrolled across the screen and the Doctor reached up to adjust proper settings.

"Didn't think I'd ever use this machine for this…" he said out loud, mostly to himself.

He lifted Rose's shirt up, softly brushing the swell of her stomach. She wasn't sure but it almost seemed as though the motion were affectionate.

Hovering the device over her stomach, a 3-D image soon began to materialize. The little fetus looked more like a baby already, Rose thought. The Doctor studied the image before his eyes grew wide reading the stats.

"Oh, Rose…" he said, in utter shock. His blue eyes started to look glistened, and he looked down at Rose with an expression of awe.

"He is perfect. A perfect, healthy, beautiful _Galifraen _baby boy." he marveled, reaching to smooth the hair back on Rose's head.

"Yeah?" she said in a watery smile. "It's a boy, huh?" she laughed and wiped her eyes. "I sorta knew it, already, but good to know for sure….He's okay?" she asked.

"He is fantastic, Rose. A fantastic, impossible little miracle." he said, his face breaking into a huge manic grin before he read the rest of the data.

"And you…well, you're definitely not human. Apparently a hybrid, most akin to a Galifraen. Tiny bit of human, but nobody's perfect. Except for me. And well, him," he said smiling.

"What happened, Rose? How is this possible?" he asked, his facing dropping to an expression of seriousness.

Rose licked her lips, hesitant to tell him. But she decided to tell him everything that happened in her past and his future.

"You were absolutely foolish. You stupid, stupid girl," he said, shaking his head, dead serious and with anger at her actions in absorbing the TARDIS.

"_Woman_, Doctor," Rose corrected, sliding into a sitting position. "But I wouldn't change any of this for the world," she added, bringing herself to be as level and fierce as he was being with her.

Then to counter the high-and-mighty air of his, she decided to tell him all about Reinette and the distance he'd brought between them. At first he refused to believe he had brought 'Mickey the Idiot' on board, saying "Oi, now I know you're just making stuff up. What would I do that for? I'd rather sell my leather jacket and wear a leotard."

Rose assured him he would look good in a leotard, and that he had in fact brought Mickey along, reminding him that he may be the same man, but he was certainly different. "I'm a pretty boy, aren't I?" he asked, as though the words were the vilest concept in all the universe.

Rose smiled but told him she liked him no matter what he looked like, though admitted to missing his blue eyes.

The Doctor sighed and held his head in his hands for several minutes. Not lifting his head from his hands as he spoke aloud to her.

"Rose, I know I'm a right idiot. A coward, and apparently very, very pretty, but… give me another chance, yeah?" he asked before looking up to meet her in the eyes.

"Time Lords…we aren't good at this stuff. At _relationships, feelings…" _he said, clearly very uncomfortable with this whole conversation. "But perhaps that's what doomed us in the end. Politics instead of heart. Maybe that's one thing you apes have going for you," he added.

"Not an ape," Rose said, smiling with her tongue poking out.

"No, not an ape…" he agreed beaming, and he closed the distance between them, kissing her softly and then punishingly.

He pulled back after letting the kiss deepened and go on for a few minutes.

"More of that in my future, eh?" he said with a large grin before his face fell. "Or well, part of it, I guess." Did he look heartbroken? Rose wondered. "I'm sorry Rose. You do know, don't you?" His eyes penetrated her. "You _know?_" he repeated.

Rose looked down at her feet as they dangled off the gurney. "I thought I knew Doctor, but I think this time around it really needs saying."

Rose searched his eyes and when it was clear he was at a loss for words, she changed the subject and asked for any information he could gather on Galifraen pregnancies. There wasn't much, but the Doctor compiled a list things to avoid (Aspirin, alcohol, pears, etc.) most of those things were items regular humans couldn't have during their pregnancies anyway.

Rose went to find Jack and they made their way to the console to say goodbye. Rose hugged the Doctor tightly and he kissed her head for a long moment.

"Hey Doc, can I grab a word with you for a quick moment?" Jack asked.

Rose took the hint and walked over to the doors to give them enough space to not eavesdrop.

"It really was good to see you again, Doc. But listen, future you will eventually remember this, right?"

The Doctor paused and then he resigned to confirm. "Yes, once a trigger is experienced."

"Right. Well, while I know it wasn't you, yet, that broke Rose's heart, I just want to tell you to watch your back. I'll steal Rose out from under you faster than the space between dual heartbeats if I thought for a minute she'll consider me. Monogamy might be super difficult for me, but Rose would be worth it. And listen, there's only one other being around that is going to live a life span to match Rose's. So give that a thought for a while when you're chasing that French skirt…" he said with a big, slightly evil smile and patted the Doctor shoulder before his face turned into a serious glare.

The Doctor just scowled at him. His blood was boiling, and he knew exactly who was going to get the brunt of his anger.

The Doctor had just landed his ship back in Cardiff from visiting Sarah Jane, it was time for a refueling. He stood in the console room thinking quietly to himself about his next move.

Suddenly, the TARDIS doors flew open in a sudden and loud burst. If the doors had actually been made from the wood, rather than just looking like wood, they would have splintered. Instead they bounced off the walls, one coming slightly off of its' hinges. Impenetrable from everyone. Everyone except the doctor.

And it was the Doctor himself who strode into the console room, big ears, leather, and a murderous rage plastered to his face.


	10. Self-hatred

The old Doctor's fists were balled.

"Well, Rose was right, looks like I _have_ become a pretty boy," he said to his future-self, his lips sneering slightly. The current Doctor had jumped off of his jump seat in startled awe as the scene unfolded.

"How... WHY are you crossing timelines?" he said in shock.

His past-self scoffed, folded his arms, and glanced about the new console room

"Don't give me that, you know full well Time Lords are given certain allowances around that. Besides, I'm here to clean up after you." He strode up the ramp and peered down the hall before quickly turning back to his future-self.

"What are you doing?" his future-self asked, confused as he watched his former-self walking about the control room.

"I'm checking to see if your French whore is lingering within earshot. I won't even get into what you were thinking about messing around with significant historical figures," he said with a mock happy face. "What I will address however, is what the hell you think you are doing to Rose?" he yelled, keeping his arms firmly crossed to keep from punching his future-self.

He may be a believer in the peaceful method (at least now that his Rose was by his side, acting as a conscious to his ruthless soldier persona), but he had half a mind to knock they tweeded git out cold.

"How do you know about that," his future-self asked, side stepping the question.

"Because she came to see me. Seems I was the only option she had to ensure the fetus was developing properly and look after her health. And really, what were you thinking? Leaving her to face this on her own?"

His future-self winced at the implication.

"I didn't plan this, this isn't how I wanted it to be. _SHE left ME," h_e emphasized, angrily and incredulously.

His past-self laughed a humorless laugh.

"We both know Rose wouldn't leave, not unless _pushed_. She loves us. Well, at least she did before your little dalliances, that is," he spat at the pretty boy.

The man in brown said nothing, he simply held the bridge of his nose in his hands.

"It's 98% Galifraen, you know." The past-version offered, all anger quickly drained from his voice.

His future-self released a breath that he held for an inordinate amount of time and sank into his jumpseat.

"Check the systems, I've hidden the data under our name in there," he paused. "'I know the love I feel for her, which means you can't ignore it. It exists in you too," his past-self said, pleading for him to fix this.

"I was born out of our love for her. We've never loved anything this much in our entire existence," his future-self-admitted.

"Scary, isn't it?" his past-self grinned.

"Terrifying. Wholly, absolutely, a-Dalek-ate-my-bananas type of terrifying," his future-self concurred with a completely serious look on his face.

"Right, well, this is your problem to fix. And just so you know, I've sent Jack a message asking him to report back to this me that everything has been resolved. If I hear otherwise, let me assure you, I will end us before you ever exist. Then Rose could possibly have a good life instead of having a heartless pretty boy whoring around on her for the rest of her long existence," he said, Oncoming Storm mode in full swing.

"I'll create a paradox and throw ourself to a reaper…"

And with that he turned around and strode back out the doors, leaving his future-self desperately wishing Rose was by his side.

Rose and Jack popped back to the pier they had started from.

"Are you okay, Rosie?" Jack asked her, squeezing her shoulders and searching her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Jack," she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "_Thank you," _she said with as much heartfelt gratitude as she could force into the words.

"Anytime, cutie," he said winking.

"Listen, my flat is yours if you need a place to crash. For as long as you need to. I'm good with babies too, got the whole one-hand-diaper-change thing down. Didn't take me a week to learn the ropes with my daughter." While he kept his tone light, Rose picked up on the sincerity and gravity of what Jack was offering.

"You're an amazing friend, Jack. And I love you. But I'm a wreck right now, barely can figure out this whole mom-to-be thing, let alone the state of my relationship. Besides, Time Lord babies might just change their own diapers," she said, grinning. "At least, one can dream," she added wistfully.

"Well, the offer stands. Forever," he said, giving Rose a hug and a kiss on her head. "I've gotta head back to the office, always something brewing. Can I walk you anywhere though?" Jack offered.

Rose smiled and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Nah, it is a good night for a walk and some introspection."

"Ah, deep thought, yeah… not my forte." He said, walking backwards to his office. "But call me if you need a good shag, those pregnancy hormones, gotta love 'em!" He said grinning.

Rose laughed but would have punched him if he were in arm distance.

She watched as his figure grew smaller in the distance, and made her way back to the hotel in the warmth of the summer night.

The Doctor had retreated to the library to nurse a cup of tea and sit and think about all his pear-shaped problems. His past-self and threatened to off him. And himself couldn't help but think about how awful he'd treated the two best gifts the universe had finally given him.

It had been so long since he had been a father, and thinking about his children stirred odd feelings. He mostly felt like a failure. Apart from the save-the-days, he had pretty much failed every personal struggle given to him.

Fatherhood was no exception. His children were loomed, of course, and his wife was simply a woman who he was cordial to. He spent most of his time traveling, dealing with politics, and avoiding his children. After all, they were pretty much off to the Academy and out of his hands in the blink of an eye.

One son and one daughter. Both who grew to be quite ambivalent towards him. But his son gave him the best gift to date – a granddaughter, Susan. Susan was everything that children on Earth are to their parents. Their relationship was quite unique from their native customs, but it far more rewarding then anything he'd ever experienced.

His love for Susan also helped him love humanity. He saw her compassion and humor reflected in many of the humans he met.

Perhaps fatherhood could be like raising and loving Susan? It pained him how much he missed her, but it was honestly less painful compared to the hurt of living without his Rose.

That was when he remembered he had some of his family heirlooms tucked away in a room he'd asked the TARDIS to never unlock a long, long time ago.

With that he jumped up and sought the Room of Memories.


	11. Fixing the Mistake

The next day Rose set out to learn more about Cardiff. As much as the thought of being away from her mother made her sad, she knew she needed space. Wales was still closer than traveling through time and space, so her Mum could deal with it as far as Rose was concerned. Plus having Torchwood and Jack close by would be a reassurance against any issues she and a Time Tot would surely lure to the area.

The sun was shining as Rose went for a walk through the city, it really was a gorgeous place nestled on the water. On this fine day the vendors of the shops opted to have a sidewalk sale. Rose felt relaxed and almost happy as she walked slowly through the various tables. She had been in Cardiff for about 3 weeks and her stomach had grown immensely in this time, people were now certain she was pregnant and complete strangers would often ask about her pregnancy. Based on everyone's guesses, they placed her at about 6 months. It was actually more like three months but this was a pioneering pregnancy of sorts, so Rose chose not to think about it.

Looking out over the water, Rose thought about the many trips with the Doctor where they'd enjoyed a sunny day shopping alien markets. She ached for him, as much as she hated herself for that very fact. The words of her first Doctor had haunted her. "Please just give me a chance," his blue eyes pleaded. Maybe she had been a bit rash. Maybe it would just take some time for the Doctor to come around. But is that really what she wanted, for him to be obligated to her?

Just as Rose was rounding the corner she saw a well-known figure, tall, thin, brown suit and pinstripes. How was he here, how did he find her? Only Jack knew where she was, so this had to be complete happenstance.

The Doctor was eying fine jewelry in the window of the shop and chatting with the local proprietor animatedly. They jeweler was handing him some small silver-looking pieces, and as Rose snuck closer she saw he was looking at rings.

She took a deep breath and made her way towards him, swallowing down her anxiety and willing her self step by step. Maybe she'd give him the second chance 'Ole Blue Eyes had asked her for. It was quite spur of the moment, but Rose acted before she could think too much.

At that precise moment however, Reinette popped out from the next market stall and squealed with delight when she saw the Doctor was handling jewelry. When she saw the ring in his hands, she threw her arms around him and jumped up and down, cooing over it. She thought it was for her.

Rose pivoted and made to turn around but it was too late, he'd seen her.

The Doctor looked up and his hearts literally palpated at the sight of Rose frozen. "Rose…. You're here…" he said with an astonished look on his face. He gave her a small, tentative yet apologetic smile. Realizing what this must have looked like to her, he angrily extricated himself from Reinette, and walked after Rose.

"Rose!" He shouted in part shock and part panic. For a visibly pregnant woman, she was quick and nimble on her feet.

Rushing away, the Doctor ordered Reinette back into the TARDIS with a voice and expression so angry that the French woman jumped and immediately obeyed.

Looking back after Rose he saw she wasn't even running, but able to lose herself in the crowd easily. The Doctor lost sight of her fast and realized his defeat. So close! He had been so close! Why was he always walking after her?

He set his jaw in anger and thundered back to the TARDIS. Throwing open the doors, he strode directly to the courtesan, face set in a determined look. Reinette's smile faltered just as he reached her, placed his hands on her temple, and she blacked out.

The Doctor removed all traces of her time with him, the clockwork droids, and in place of the droids at the ball, he inserted a memory of a gang of marauders crashing the ball. If anyone brought up the droids, she would simply laugh at the absurdity and move on from the topic.

The Doctor set a course for France, placing her just after the ball when he'd first whisked her away. It wouldn't be crossing his own timeline because from here on out she belonged to history. Materializing into her room, he opened the doors of the TARDIS and deposited the sleeping Madame on her bed.

As he lay her down on her, he paused, taking in her peaceful features, her perfectly coifed hair, expensive silk and lace. He suddenly realized that more than anything he wanted pink and yellow features, bottle-bleached hair, and sweat-shirt hoodies.

After all, Reinette was poised and proper like all the women on Galifrey, and hadn't he run from that at his first chance? Perfection to him was Rose, and it grieved him that he was coming to this conclusion now. He left the fancy room that belonged to the Madame without glancing back, eager to be rid of this whole mistake.

He set a course back for the Powell Estates, 2006.

Taking a moment to swallow his pride, the Doctor knocked on the apartment door. A very annoyed Jackie opened up with a hand on her hip.

"About time you showed up. Come on it you big lump, about time we sort this mess out."


	12. Sacrifice

Rose had made her way to the best chippie in town, at least according to the reviews on her phone app. As she approached her stomach rumbled in hunger at the heavy and intoxicating smell of chips that wafted through the air. Why on Earth her mother had insisted they meet at this place, Rose wasn't certain. Her Mum had all but demanded Rose come out to London for a visit and Rose was getting lonely, so she accommodated the request.

She turned entered the establishment, lost in thoughts of blue eyes, Northern accents, and leather. Looking up, a wave of dread struck her as she spotted the Doctor sitting nervously at a table. The Doctor glanced up as he finished folding a paper crane out of a newspaper and saw Rose instantly.

Rose made to leave the establishment as he met her eyes and started towards her. "Rose! Oh Rose, please wait!" he said, chasing after her as she turned to head off in the other direction.

"Oh no you don't, missy!" Jackie said, stepping in front of Rose's only exit point. Ah, set up - figures. Rose thought exasperatedly.

The Doctor spoke to Rose's back.

"Please just give me a chance," he said in desperation.

Rose froze as he uttered those words. He had to use those exact words, didn't he? She thought.

Rose turned around and the Doctor studied Rose's (well _his) _leather jacket, and suddenly something clicked. Memories of the day she and Jack sought out himself as Big Ears and Blue Eyes out came flooding back.

"Off you go, to the table with the both of you. I'll be right here reading my tabloids. _By the door," _Jackie said while guiding Rose to sit. Once Jackie had made her way back to the counter, the Doctor broke the silence.

"I remember, Rose. I remember..." He motioned to her stomach.

"It's a boy." He said with a weary and saddened smile. Tears prickled his eyes, and he looked away and then studied the floor.

"I was a father to a little boy, a very very long time ago..."

Rose just looked at him. How could he just now be opening up to her? For as well as she thought she knew the Doctor, it turned out she barely knew him. What she wouldn't have given for a glimpse into his head. Amazing how a complete, albeit gorgeous, stranger like Reinette could see more about him in five minutes than Rose had learned in their year of traveling.

She shook her head. "This can't work doctor," she motioned between them. "There is so much I don't know about you, yet I've laid myself out, open book for you. Only for you to run."

"I'm right here, Rose. This is me. Not running. Well, running after you, I guess. Probably a better type of running, although loads better when you're running with me. Like that time on Calista-" he started babbling.

Rose sighed. "Doctor, I'm starving. Tell you what, _you _buy fish and chips, and maybe we can talk."

The Doctor smiled and reached for her hand, but she folded her arms over herself protectively. Still, it was progress, and maybe now he could try to fix things.

True to his agreement, he paid for fish and chips.

The Doctor sighed as Rose dug into her food, she was looking too thin and tired, but he remembered her vitals from his inspection were good.

If he had his way, he'd be dotting on her and working to fatten her up. Chips every day, lots of bananas, and tea, he'd make sure she never lifted a finger or wanted for anything.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor offered.

Rose met his eyes for the first time and studied them.

"How's the missus?" Rose asked pointedly, but unable to meet his eye.

"Well, she isn't my missus…yet, but she's radiant and glowing, and the size of a boat with my baby boy inside her…"he replied cheekily. Rose was confused for a moment, missing the fact that he was only talking about her and not that French woman.

"Unless of course you mean Madame de Pompadour, in which case long gone and a part of history where she rightfully belongs. Sans any memories of a cowardly alien who ran in to save her and risked everything dear to himself," he replied honestly.

"Ah, didn't like your taste in jewelry then?" She smiled as she attempted some humor.

"Wasn't looking at jewelry for her, Rose. But I'll get to that later."

Rose chanced a glance at him and found he was smiling at her with a mixture of hope, anxiety, and sadness on his face.

"You had a little boy before, eh?" she prompted him, changing the topic.

"I did. He wasn't much like me though. Apart from shared genetics, and a high intellect, we didn't have much in common. He didn't care much for me either. But I was never around. Family wasn't important to me then, but even still – the family as you humans know it versus families on Galifrey, it's quite different."

Rose cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows, urging him to continue.

"Well, children are off to the academy at 8 years old, and since they're grown to the age of 6 in the looms, there's only 2 years where they're living at home. Even then they're being prepped for life at the academy. Dinner together, activities as a family, that didn't exist really. Apart from attending many, many, political events and dinners."

"Sounds…" Rose paused searching for the right word, "Lonely, suffocating even."

"Oh it was. I was always a rebel out traveling and breaking rules. Not much of a family man, until Susan."

"Susan?" Rose asked, concentrating on her food.

"My granddaughter," he said with a smile that emulated pride. "She was truly the light of my life then, so charming, so smart. She traveled with me for a long time, until…" he stopped, the guilt of the memory weighing on him. "Until I locked her out of the TARDIS."

Rose looked horrified. "You 'Aberdeened' your own granddaughter?" Rose said incredulously.

"What? No, no, no. She had fallen in love with a human, but she couldn't bear to see me alone. At least, that's what I think she was thinking. I knew if I didn't lock her out, she'd never have willingly gone with the man she loved. And she deserved to be happy. It was my last gift to her, even if she didn't know it was a gift," he said sadly.

"Or maybe you ran from her?" Rose challenged. There wasn't malice in her voice, but Rose was emotionally blocked off.

The Doctor just studied her, letting her get whatever it was she needed off of her chest.

"I didn't…" he started, but Rose cut him off.

"You _left _me Doctor, back on that ship," she said, anger starting to tinge her voice.

"I was always coming back for you, Rose. Always," he said with as much sincerity as he could muster in his voice.

"Really? How would you have done that?" she challenged.

"Oh, well," he said as though it were the most obvious concept in the world. "I'd have hitched a ride with my past-self. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Right. And then what? How would you get to me?" Rose said, still challenging him. "I mean, you didn't know the name of the space ship. Or the date. You picked up a signal and charted to it, but can you tell me now where we were?"

The Doctor stared at her, the realization dawning on him. For as much of a genius as he was, he hadn't thought of that. She was right. He quite possibly wouldn't have been able to get back to her.

"And you know, it isn't even that I needed saving, that I am some jeopardy-friendly person who can't save themselves. I'm a self-rescuing-princess, thank-you-very-much," she said pointing at herself.

"What kills me, is how easily you just ran from me. Abandoned me. Without even thinking it through. There was room for another person on that horse, Doctor," she paused.

"Forget me – what about my child?"

"_Our _child," the Doctor said, a bit angry, but Rose kept talking.

"That's what I kept thinking about the whole time, if I meant little more than an afterthought, how would you view a child and domestics?" She paused to look him in the eye.

"You don't understand. I can't risk you running from me, not now. Given the stakes," she said quietly.

"I won't. I promise. And I keep my promises, Rose. No more running. Not from the truth, or my past, or from you."

The Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a medium sized dark red box, and gently pushed it over to Rose.

Rose gingerly took the box and opened the top. Inside the box was a silver rattle, Rose gasped as she pulled it out. Engraved in the metal was Galifraen text, and in each of the separate circles, a stone was nestled into the middle.

"It's beautiful," she marveled, slowly rolling her fingers over the engravings and stones.

"It is a family heirloom. Passed down to each generation, the eldest boy inheriting it. Each of my children used this. At lastly it was Susan's."

He took the rattle out of her hands to explain.

"This is my family crest, our surname, I suppose you could say. And each of these stones are the names of the children in my family, and their birth stones are set in the middle here." He said pointing.

Rose couldn't help but smile. "It's beautiful, Doctor."

The Doctor reached over the table and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

He flipped the rattle over, and showed her an empty spot with a groove dug into it. "…And this, this is where his name will go," he said, pointing to swollen belly.

She was smiling, but her thoughts couldn't help but wander darker at the moment he mentioned names. Then she laughed bitterly at the irony, breaking the spell of the moment.

"God. You know, I don't even know your real name."

"You could. If you wanted, I mean," the Doctor offered to her earnestly. Then he decided to be direct with her.

"Rose… why did you leave? Why were you going to leave without telling me?"

She stayed quiet for a long moment, the Doctor wasn't sure she was going to answer him.

"You know there was this movie Mickey made me watch, which despite the gore is a really well written movie. The movie was 'Kill Bill.' Beatrix – a trained assassin- finds out she's pregnant with Bill's kid. Bill is the leader and trainer slash mentor to the assassins," Rose explained, waving her hand about as she gave a recap of the movie.

"Anyway, she finds out and she decides to flees, trying to make a safer life for her and the baby. She explains to him that before she was pregnant, she would have 'jumped trains' for him. But now that she was pregnant, she was going to be a Mom, she had to think for her child. You proved to me that I'd always come second to your fears. And by extension so would our child."

She sighed, the conversation was depleting the last of her energy.

"And you know what hurts most?" she added as an afterthought. "You let someone else see into your head, see things you won't even talk to me about."

Seeing his surprised look, Rose clarified. "Reinette told Mickey. Mickey told me…"

"I can show you those things too, I can show you everything..." he said with a mixture of pleading and hopefulness.

Rose didn't say anything, she studied him.

"I..." He started to say _those _words, but he choked on them as they came out. Forcing a swallow, he continued – if they ever needed to be said, now was the time.

"I love you," he said in a whisper, reaching to grasp her hand.

"Be my bond mate? You could see everything in my head, feel what I feel, and know how genuine I am about all of this. How much I want to fix it."

Rose shook her head, tears flowing freely.

"I…I have to go, I need some time," she said getting up and walking out of the chippie. She managed to slip past Jackie, which she was grateful for because she couldn't handle an argument with her Mum as well. How could he offer all those things to someone he barely knew, yet withhold them from her? At least until he deemed her worthy enough. Reinette had been good enough as a 'stupid ape,' but apparently Rose didn't qualify then.

Jackie watched the alien walk after her daughter and shook her head in exasperation. She opted to nurse her cup of tea and give them some privacy. At least they'd spoken.

"Rose, please stay, talk to me," he called after her as they spilled onto the street.

"You didn't want me before, it isn't fair to ask that now," she said, arms crossed and folding into herself as she looked at him.

"I love you Rose, I love you with every fiber of my being. More than I've ever loved anything. Ever."

Rose wiped her tears and looked at him.

"Your actions speak differently. That isn't love, Doctor. Kissing someone else, bringing another woman into your life to flirt with, or whatever you two have done... that isn't love, at least not for me."

He sighed, emotion thick in his voice, choking back tears. "No, you're right. That wasn't love. That was fear. Cowardice. Ignorance. Stupidity. But I didn't do anything with Reinette – she kissed ME!"

"And you let her," she said before turning again to walk away.

The Doctor just stood watching her walk away, his hands in his pockets and his hearts breaking. He was turning to head back to his TARDIS in defeat when he heard screams and weapons being charged and cocked.

"YOU. WOMAN, KNOWN AS ROSE TYLER. DO NOT MOVE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR VIOLATION OF THE SHADOW PROCLAMATION, SECTION Z THREE 1.5, SUBSECTION NINE."

The Doctor's hearts started pounding as he whirled around to take in the scene. Dark had set in, the street lights had yet to pop on, and the only light came from the windows of the shops on the streets. Yet in the dark he could make out the figure of Rose with her hands above her head, surrounded by six Judoons and their guns pointed to her.

Within a split second the Doctor was running towards her, slowing as he approached so as not to seem a threat. He raised his hands as he approached.

"Ah, Judoon! How lovely to see you on Earth! I assume you have the necessary paperwork filed with Torchwood to be on this planet conducting business?" he asked, walking to Rose's right.

"THAT IS NOT NECCESSARY." The Judoon said, lifting his chin in what the Doctor assumed was a gesture of guilt/pride.

"Right, well, according to the Shadow Proclamation, section Quird Three, Alpha, subsection two-point-five, you are required to get permission from Torchwood prior to conducting business on Earth. My name is The Doctor, by the way. Last of Galifrey, and Protector of Earth, which also means that I'm well-versed in the Shadow Proclamation. Helped write it actually," he said with his hands still raised in the air and rocking back and forth on his heels.

His expression grew dead serious.

"However, I will let this slide if you will abide by section four, subsection one, where a pregnant woman may send a delegate in her place to endure sentencing and punishment on her behalf."

The Doctor recited, gesturing towards her. "Please, by all means, scan her to confirm."

One Judoon to the left took large strides towards Rose, and she jumped as he abruptly stopped in front of her, taking out a rectangular device and pushing a button.

"CONFIRMED," he announced to his team.

"YOUR PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTABLE. CATALOGUE AND PROCESS THE PRISONER. ROSE TYLER MAY GO," the head Judoon announced.

Rose slowly lowered her hands and stared at the Doctor in astonishment.

"What are you doing?" Rose gasped, horrified.

"I can't very well let the love of my life and mother of my child go to prison," he said sincerely. "Just promise me one thing, that you and he will have a fantastic life, Rose."

Rose stood bewildered as he uttered those oh-so-familiar words. "You can't."

She turned to the Judoon "Can I hug him?" The Judoon didn't respond as he went through the task of scanning the Doctor.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Doctor, for everything," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know, Rose. It'll be okay," he said, hugging her as tightly as he could and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

He pulled away and kissed her hard and passionately. As he released her, the Judoon began to pull him away.

"Can I see you?" Rose asked desperately.

"I'm not sure," he yelled as he was led away.

"Wait! Where are you taking him? He is my delegate, I have a right to know what will happen," she demanded of the lead Judoon.

He printed a form out from his large computer-like device, and handed it to her. "SENTENCING WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO TORCHWOOD."

With that, the Judoon entered their ship that was hidden away at the entrance of a side alley, and departed the planet. Rose watched as the shuttle left, feeling helpless and saddened at the way the talk with the Doctor had ended.

She had never felt more alone in her life.


	13. Numb

Rose was numb with shock and sadness. She had just watched as a group of aliens whisked the Doctor away without as much of an after-thought. His final words were ringing in her head, he'd asked her to have a fantastic life. She felt a large amount of guilt for not being able to reconcile things with the Doctor. She felt sick to her stomach with dread, and very helpless. But mostly she felt numb.

Turning to walk back in the other direction in a haze, Rose walked the sidewalk trying her best not to bump into anything – she could barely see through the tears. However, one object was easy to distinguish as she looked across the street: the TARDIS. Rose gasped at the sight of the ship, and ripped off her protective necklace. Instantly she felt the TARDIS bidding to her.

Pulling out the TARDIS key from his leather jacket that she was wearing, she hurriedly opened the doors. As she entered the console room she saw the very welcome sight of Mickey sitting in the jumpseat intensely studying the monitors. Seeking the only comfort she knew she could find, Rose flung herself at Mickey.

Mickey didn't seem the least bit surprised, he held her and whispered calming things to her.

"Oh Mickey, it was awful. I just couldn't listen to what he was saying to me. It hurt too much, and then…" she choked as she tried to tell him about his arrest.

"Shhhh…. Hey, I saw the whole thing on the monitor. I'm working right now to pull up what little information on those things that I can, but there isn't a lot of English on this thing," he said, pointing the monitor.

Rose walked to the side of the keyboard and entered into a key combination. Suddenly everything was in English. Mickey gawked at her.

"Been trying to change that for 15 minutes!"

"Got a little annoyed that I couldn't surf the internet while the Doctor was under the grating repairing stuff and I wanted to keep him company. So he gave me a code to translate the stuff…" she said a bit sheepishly.

Suddenly Rose spun around.

"JACK! Jack can help with this!" she said, pulling out the piece of paper the Judoon had given her.

As if by command Jack appeared on the monitor call screen.

"Hey there beautiful," he said to Mickey. "Rose I can't leave you be for a moment without some sort of trouble, now can I?"

She grinned at the monitor.

"I was just about to call you!"

Jack looked confused. "You did, sweetheart."

Rose deduced it had been the TARDIS, but rather than explain she cut to the chase.

"The Doctor is in trouble. I need your help."

"It just so happens that I have all the paperwork right here, just came in. I'll send it over." Jack turned to send the files, before returning to the camera with a solemn expression.

"I'm sorry Rose, there's nothing I can do."

Mickey looked confused and interjected. "Wait, hold on, what's going on here? Why was he arrested?"

"Well…according to the paperwork it was our lovely Fertile Myrtle here that was actually supposed to be arrested. The filings claim that Rose unlawfully discharged a weapon on planet Rointheta,"Jack recited from the hard copies.

Rose blanched at the memory, she'd ironically been trying to save the Doctor (and the planet, hello?) and yet it seems her actions had doomed him.

"Being an unregistered visitor, using an unlawful weapon, and shooting multiple aliens who had registered in recent past. Rose basically walked in and threw-up all over the Shadow Proclamation treaties established," Jack summed up with an empathetic look.

"But…I was saving the Doctor, and the planet!" she said, chewing her nails in anxiety.

"Doesn't matter, they feel official planetary police should have handled it. They don't tolerate vigilante justice, which is sort of the Doctor's MO," he offered with a wry grin.

"Wait, hold up – so why'd they take the Doctor?" Mickey asked thoroughly confused.

"Rose can have a delegate," Jack explained.

"You just threw him to the aliens without a second thought? I know you were pissed but-" Mickey started.

Rose threw him a sideways glare but spoke over his comments.

"Jack, I don't understand how they got permission to come here? The Shadow Proclamation doesn't cover Earth, the Doctor had said. Said we were still considered too under-developed at the time?" Rose asked confused.

"Ah, well, it doesn't. Since they don't have jurisdiction here, they stay out of our affairs. But you were on another planet and violating codes, so they thought seizure was justified. And since our measly planet is barely worth a glance, they didn't bother to clear it with us. Funny that they'd send Torchwood the info though, must mean we're having an impact!" Jack exclaimed with a huge grin, before sobering up and remembering the topic at hand.

"I have to save him. The protector of the universe can't go to jail for my stupidity," Rose said quietly, unable to meet eyes with the monitor.

"There's good news and bad news, Rosie. Good news is this is out of my jurisdiction. Which means we aren't entitled to follow any rules. Bad news is the prison planet they're shuttling him to is on lock down for the next three weeks. Each round-up of prisoners requires the planet to close for processing. Fairly routine, but that means he'll be at their mercy for that whole time. And I have it on good authority this place is brutal," Jack said quietly.

There was a small silence as they were lost in individual thought.

"Rose, I think we can get an official release pushed through based on the fact that you're an Earth citizen and rules don't apply. And since they didn't file with Torchwood which is the interplanetary organization set up to deal with this exact type of thing, there might be enough legal justification to fight the Quake Warper's claims of wrong doing. I could get this pushed through and filed with them right now, but he's already in processing. He's theirs for three weeks."

Rose winced at the words.

"I'm going after him. You work on getting the paperwork filled, I'm going to jump ahead in time. Send me the coordinates, yeah?" Rose asked Jack.

"What can I do?" Mickey offered.

"Leave," Rose said, sighing. "I can't risk another person that I care about. And I'm the only one that can fly this ship."

Mickey looked offended and was about to protest, but Jack jumped in to ease the tension.

"Mickey, you looking for a job?" Jack grinned. "Could always use a nice lookin' fella like yourself."

Mickey blushed at the compliment and mumbled something about "coming around" to visit. He was resigned to the fact that it was a losing argument with Rose, and since she was practically married to the Doctor, this was her ship by default. He packed his bags and was out of the ship within ten minutes, giving Rose a lingering hug and peck on the cheek before he left.

Rose was pleasantly surprised to hear the Old Girl outright talking to her. She'd asked the ship to help her navigate to find him.

"Let's save my Thief," the TARDIS had said.


	14. Reparations

The landing had been a bit rough, and the date on the screen put them at midnight the day the processing closure was over. Rose was angry with the TARDIS for not placing them the morning of, but the TARDIS was too worn from the extra effort to speak to her through their connection and having a new driver at the helm. She did send Rose waves of reassurances in the form of hums.

Rose suspected the TARDIS was trying to advise her to get some rest, and as much as it made her skin crawl to just sit around, she could feel the fatigue wearing at her mental faculties and body. She made her way to the hallway and found that in place of her usual door, the Doctor's room was instead awaiting her. The smell of his room was oddly comforting, and as she climbed into bed she could smell his scent lingering on his pillows.

She found a hard object hitting her knee, and when she pulled it out from the disheveled covers, she discovered her old photo album. Opened to just one page that had all of her photos and the "new new Doctor" combined into one section. She smiled and traced the lines of his face, and in the final moments before she drifted off to sleep with the photo album on her chest, she knew she had forgiven him.

Rose slept so hard in a fit of exhaustion that she didn't stir once throughout the night. She still awoke unnaturally early, as soon as the planet's light source had lit the area. Checking the database for paperwork from Jack, Rose was relieved to find all the necessary clearance paperwork had been pushed through, as well as her cover identity.

Rose would play the part of Dr. Elizabeth Dunsire, who happened to be a blonde of similar appearance and who also worked in one of the Torchwood field offices. All she needed was a spare pair of the Doctor's sexy glasses, a spare sonic screwdriver, and some psychic paper.

Once inside the prison, she was surprised to see how easily her credentials and story were accepted. She would definitely owe Jack big time when they returned. As she was processed in for prisoner retrieval, they assigned her a humanoid guard. Keeping a brisk pace in step with the guard, Rose tried hard to steel herself in preparation for seeing the Doctor. The long, grey hallway was filled with at least a hundred jail cells, but unlike human jail cells she'd seen in movies, the doors were made of a thick clear glass-like substance.

Each cell housed a prisoner with cement walls, but the solid outer glass allowed for complete containment and sound proofing whilst providing visual clarity. There were no bars to speak of. As they walked down the hall she saw alien prisoners throwing themselves at the glass, whilst screaming. At least Rose assumed they were screaming based on their expressions, because there was no sound other than the two sets of feet walking down the corridor.

The silence chilled Rose to the core. She shuddered at the thought of herself being locked away, but the thought of the Doctor stuck in here made Rose ill. The attendant stopped abruptly in front of a darkened cell. Unlike most of the other cells, this one was pitch black.

Pressing a few buttons, the security guard said, "Huh, that's strange. Must not have gotten the orders for release. He hasn't been cleaned up or de-conditioned. Oh well, yours now!" He walked away leaving Rose alone as she stared in horror at the scene before her.

The Doctor was sitting upright, tied to a chair. His wrists and feet bound with metal restraints. He was unrecognizable. Every part of his body had suffered some sort of brutality. He was only wearing a pair of pants and sat barefooted, bare chested, and looked emaciated.

Rose willed her feet to move before him, trembling as she slowly approached him. She noticed the camera light mounted at the top of the cell held a ref recording light.

The Doctor held his eyes tightly closed as he adjusted to the lights that had been turned on. His body shook at the sound of approaching steps.

Rose stopped at the front of the chair, dropping the sit on her heels, and studied his injuries. His lip was split, along with his eyebrow and he had two black eyes. His chest bore new and old wounds of cauterized wounds, they had been torturing him with burn tools, apparently. His ribcage was so bruised it almost looked black in spots.

"Doctor, nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Elizabeth Dunsire, I will be your discharge doctor today." Rose moved to press the green button on the wall, and with a quick 'snapping sound, the shackles were retracted. Immediately the video camera light switch off.

Rose looked his body over for a place that wasn't damaged. Settling on his fringe, she softly ran her hands through his hair. At Rose's touch, the Doctor opened his eyes. They looked older, more haunted than Rose remembered. And instantly his eyes were brimming with tears.

"My Doctor..." Rose murmured, again running her hands through his hair gently.

"You came for me," he murmured.

"I just want you safe, my Doctor," she said, echoing words from their past.

He smiled a weak smile. As he brought his hands to rest in his lap, one hand was next to her stomach. He affectionately stroked his hand to her now-noticeable bump.

Rose noticed three of his finger nails were missing nails, and his immobile left hand sported fingers that were swollen and sticking in odd directions. She swallowed hard, not wanting to survey the rest of his body.

Her heart broke. He had endured unspeakable pain. Rose kissed the top of his head softly before drawing back to meet his eyes.

"Let's get you out of here as quickly as we can, before someone changes their mind." With that, she grabbed his spare sonic screwdriver from her coat pocket and scanned his injuries.

The two biggest injuries were his busted pelvis, and a broken collar bone. Both of which would effectively immobilize him if it weren't for the sonic technology.

Running her hands along the injuries, Rose knew she would be momentarily causing him a lot of pain.

"Doctor, I have to set the bone breaks in order for the bone fusion setting to properly work."

He nodded. "I'll be okay."

He winced as he moved and Rose very much doubted that sentiment. "Let's get this done."

Rose placed her hands strategically, took a deep breath and with his nod, she pushed down heavily.

The Doctor screamed, and Rose couldn't help but release tears in empathy.

He gasped for breath and struggled to regain his breathing, drawing ragged breaths. After a couple of moments of rest, Rose moved to his shoulder and repeated this process, biting her lip so hard she left a bruise behind.

Quickly, Rose set to mending his bones with sonic technology. The rest of his injuries would have to wait until their return to the TARDIS, it was likely the bone repairs would need further treatment.

She again kneeled in front of him to lift him upright and onto his feet. As she did she felt the Doctor wrap her into a tight hug, silent sobs wracking his body and he buried his face in her hair. Rose hugged him tightly but cautiously, weary of his injuries. She extracted herself from his hug and looked into his eyes.

"Let's go home," she said with urgency laced in her tone.

Rose was thankful she had decided to bring a spare suit outfit and shoes, as the guards hadn't bothered to supply her with any of his personal affects. She pulled socks and red trainers out of her bag, and helped the Doctor into his articles. His shirt, suit jacket, and slacks would have to do, tie be damned.

Bracing his arm around her shoulder, the two of them set as hurried a pace as they could manage. Stopping at the entrance, Rose made to stop at the guard office, but the Doctor refused to let her out of his grasp. Rose hauled him with her as she demanded his personal effects. They were uncaring until Rose pulled out her psychic paper, and the aliens kept to their feet with sincere apologies.

The Doctor's gate was slow and the walk back to the TARDIS felt excruciatingly more so. In other circumstances, Rose would have tried to fly the TARDIS back to him, but she refused to let go of him now that they were reunited, even if she wanted nothing more than to be done and off of this planet.

The walk was silent, save for the Doctor's labored breaths and grunts of pain. Concentrating at the task at hand was kept Rose from breaking down. She had never seen a more beautiful site than the TARDIS laying on the other side of the field.

A single tear rolled down the Doctor's face as he entered her blue doors. Rose helped him to the jump seat and quickly moved to put the TARDIS into vortex.

He watched her with a look of awe as she moved about the console gracefully. He had made several attempts to help but Rose gently kept him seated each time.

He was still weary of his relationship with her. Rose had come to save him, yes, but how long until she would leave? She had only saved him because of her guilt, he was sure. It didn't make him any less grateful, but he still knew his prior actions had messed everything up beyond repair.

Switching on the last control, Rose looked to the Doctor and caught him staring at her. She offered him a small smile as she walked towards him.

"Let's get you to the med bay, yeah?" she said as she heaved him onto his feet.

"Just take it nice and slow," she coaxed him. Fortunately they needn't have walked far, as the TARDIS had moved the med bay to the first door in the corridor.

Sitting him down on the plush hospital bed, Rose insisted he lie down. She gathered tools and returned to his side with a pair of scissors and thick, comforter-like blanket.

"Doctor, I think it best we just cut off your clothes. I don't want to risk injuring you further. Is that okay?" She touched his shoulder softly, hoping he would be okay with parting with this particular suit.

"If you don't mind," was all he said.

She smiled and said cheekily, "Nothing I haven't seen before..." She hoped her humor would help put him at ease. His eyes were closed, but he managed a smile and eyebrow waggle at the same time. Rose's heart warmed, the smallest hint if her Doctor shining through.

Removing the clothes and pulling the blanket up seemed to help put him more at ease, but the sight of his battered body was more than she could stand.

Rose hurried to finish tending to his wounds as best as she could, but she knew the Doctor would have no choice but to heel the rest himself.

"Doctor, I can't fix all of your injuries..." She paused to study his face.

"I think it is best if you put yourself into a regenerative coma. Said yourself once that you could do that. If there was ever a need for it..."

But the Doctor shook his head adamantly.

"I can't be away from you. I won't spend what little time I have with you in a coma."

The Doctor couldn't bear the thought of Rose leaving him as he slept. It crushed him to know that she and their child were not going to be in his life any more. After all, he still hadn't been able to fix things in their last conversation. Not that he blamed Rose, but he really was quite awful at this domestic stuff. If he was being honest with himself, this was far beyond domesticity. She was his second chance, the universe had for once decided to reward him and he'd mucked it up.

"I won't go anywhere, I'll stay right here with you. Except for the frequent visit to the loo, since the little spud is pushing on my bladder..."Rose reassured him with a gentle smile, brushing his hair off of his forehead.

He shook his head no. "I can't bare it, Rose. I'll be okay, I'll heal in time."

Rose pursed her lips. "No you won't!" she yelled impatiently and angrily.

"Doctor, I'll stay here with you."

"Don't lie, Rose. It's only a matter of time before you will walk out of my life. My hearts couldn't bare missing any of my last moments with you."

He wasn't just afraid of being alone in the room – he was afraid of being alone period.

"Doctor, I know we didn't leave on the best of terms, but…" Rose paused searching for the right thing to say.

"I'm going to give us another shot. Probably should talk at some point…." She trailed off.

The Doctor's eyes remained closed, he didn't respond. He was sure she wouldn't feel this way once he was healed. Stress of adventures could do that to a person, make them excited and make them do and say things they'd later regret. He was no fool, so instead he chose to close his eyes and hold her hand.

Waiting for a response and seeing that none was forthcoming, Rose broke the silence.

"Bond with me," she said fiercely and with urgency.

He opened his eyes in shock and with a dangerous glare peeking out from beneath them.

"You can't know what you're asking," he admonished her.

"I know enough. I assume the offer still stands? Let's do it, bond with me Doctor. Do your Mr. Spock mojo thingy," she said waving her hand about wildly in explanation.

"Rose… it isn't like an Earth marriage. Bonding is forever. It's permanent. You can't escape it, even if you wanted to. Not unless one of us died," he explained.

She moved her hand to touch his temple but he grasped her wrist before she made contact.

"You. Don't. Understand. If I ever gave you reason to want to run again, you couldn't. If I ran off and kissed someone else, or flirted with another woman… you wouldn't be able to just leave, Rose."

"Will you ever do those things again?" Rose asked.

"No," he said adamantly before adding, "I never intended to do it in the first place!"

"But…I'd be there in the back of your mind, yes?"

"Yes. Always. But Rose, it's permanent through regeneration too. I could turn into a younger man with funny hair, no eyebrows, a penchant for ugly bow ties… or an old, ugly, grey-haired guy that's so far from my current charisma no one would ever want to pay attention to me again. You know I've been an old grumpy man before? Very old. And you'd stay just as you are, making out and pinching the bum of a white-haired grandpa geezer."

Rose giggled at the thought. "Well, you already are an old geezer, you just don't look it."

"I could become a woman, Rose. And you'd never be able to leave or be with anyone else."

Rose broke from the seriousness of the conversation. "Seriously? A woman?" she asked in shock. The thought was strange, but Rose knew that regardless of his shell, she'd love him. Old man, woman, or not.

"Well, strictly speaking it is possible, it has happened to other Time Lords," he explained.

She smiled warmly at him as he again closed his eyes. She gently place her fingers on his temple, closed her eyes, and imagined a golden thread reaching from her mind to his. Her smile grew wider when she heard his gasp. He swallowed hard and for one brief moment he hesitated, but he could never deny Rose anything. He'd done it before and it had gone pear-shaped.

He gently caressed the thread and wrapped a bright red thread with hers. Suddenly Rose felt the onslaught of everything he had ever experienced, all of his emotions, secrets, and a strange completeness she never knew she was missing.

Suddenly she had been each of his old reincarnations, seen herself through his eyes for the first time, and watched as she pulled him out of his own darkness. She'd been the one Reinette kissed, and felt the lame kiss as just that – unremarkable. But for the first time she also felt the pity that the Doctor had for Reinette and her short existence. His flawed actions suddenly made sense, or at least were seen from another perspective.

And most finally she'd experienced the torture he'd endured from his time serving as her delegate. The Quake Warpers were a violent society who had successfully managed to torture him during his short stay through a well-paid torture expert.

She shed tears as she relieved those sessions, not from the physical torture, but from the thoughts that occupied the Doctor during them. He thought of her, swollen and pregnant eating chips. Lying on the gurney as his previous regeneration marveled at their son. The pain was near impervious to his senses because his love for the both of them overwhelmed him.

Rose was brought from her reverie as he brushed the tears away from her cheeks, then placed his hand on her stomach. For the first time ever, she felt the baby kicked. His gentle smile grew into the Cheshire cat as he felt the gentle nudge too.

She opened her eyes and with as much sincerity, compassion, and love as she could muster she sent the first words through their connection.

"_I love you, my Doctor."_


	15. A Bond

The Doctor had been in a healing coma for the better part of five days now. Rose had landed them on a beach in Norway, laughing as the TARDIS translated the name to English: "Bad Wolf Thief Bay." It seems the TARDIS had a sense of humor, though the beach itself was a welcome change from the loneliness inside of the TARDIS. It was vast and beautiful and would allow Rose to stretch her legs and contemplate life.

On the fifth day, just before her daily walk along the beach, Rose slipped the Effelmyian medallion from her coat pocket and pinned it to the top of the blanket that covered the Doctor.

The tide was out on the beach and Rose walked barefoot in the wet sand, looking back as her foot prints impressions were erased. A clean slate, she thought. Like what she and the Doctor were embarking on. Though she was content in the beginnings of their new start, she now also carried the burden of the Doctor's past. It wasn't the actions themselves that bothered her, but the way he punished himself over and over for his mistakes. Those thoughts made Rose feel worried, and slightly hopeless. They weren't her feelings, but rather those she picked up through their connection.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had awoken in the med bay alone and he panicked. Reaching to sense their bond, he felt Rose feeling worried and in despair. He dressed quickly and dashed from the TARDIS to find her. He had assumed the worst when he found the Effelmyian medallion, as though she'd left it as a goodbye. True, a bond was supposed to be forever, but she wasn't exactly Galifraen. Maybe Rose had changed her mind?

As Rose stood looking out at the sea, she chewed her thumb nail anxiously with one hand, and absent-mindedly caressed her stomach with the other. Suddenly she heard the Doctor frantically yelling for her and watched as he burst from the blue box in full panic.

Spotting Rose down the beach he ran to her and skid to an abrupt halt, picking her up into a tight hug. He was sure she had changed her mind and no longer wanted their bond. If she tried to leave like before, he would not be able to live. Unlike the other times where he would move on and find a new companion, this time would mean an end to his existence. Rose sensed his panic and stroked his back, feeling guilty she wasn't there when he awoke.

"I thought I'd lost you. I thought you'd left and changed your mind," he said panting in a sad and desperate voice.

"I'm right here, Doctor. Forever." She pulled back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a close and passionate kiss.

Their bond threads once again linked and pulsed, seeming as real as if they were actually tied together. It was a completeness that neither had ever felt before. Both gasped as a third, thin blue thread wrapped itself in their bond. The Doctor grinned and looked down at Rose's stomach.

"Well, hello there!" he said beaming.

"That was him?" Rose asked surprised. The Doctor kissed her forehead.

He grasped her hand in his, and never again was his hand empty.


	16. Epilogue: Second Chances

The Doctor beamed as he looked at his baby son who was six months old now and had a personality like his dad, talking up a storm. Rose and the Doctor gingerly backed away from the cot and left the nursery. Their son was perfect, but that went without saying because he was, after all, the Doctor's progeny. As with tradition, the Time Tot was still without a name until his first birthday, Rose lovingly referred to him as "Teth."

Life for Rose and the Doctor turned out to be perfect. They still had their adventures, albeit with lots of diaper changing interludes, and nap times. He had never been more contented in his life and marveled all the time and how close to losing Rose he had really come. He couldn't be happier, but the time without her and the hell he put her through still haunted him. He would never forgive himself for missing out that time with her.

Rose and the Doctor had settled into the library for their nightly tradition of nursing a cuppa as the Doctor read their latest novel. Rose brushed the Efflemyian piece that resided on the bookshelf next to the couch. The Doctor had just finished a chapter when Rose spoke up.

"Doctor, do you remember…" Rose started before pausing to reword, "of course you remember, I mean who could forget…" she'd started.

The Doctor jumped up out of his seat, and came to his knees before her, cupping his hands around her face.

"Noooooo... you're not?" he asked, astonished. He kissed Rose and pulled back.

"Rose… you're… you're pregnant!" he said, a manic grin spreading across his face. Rose smiled excitedly and nodded emphatically, kissing him again passionately.

Sometimes the universe gives second chances.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! I know a few reviewers expressed displeasure at the last set of chapters, but I had to remain true to the way the scenes were playing out in my head. That said, I hope you enjoyed the ending. Thanks for reading and watch for my next set of stories. :)**


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